Second Chance
by VexenIV
Summary: RPAV rewrite. Sora winds up in the Forbidden Forest one morning completely out of the blue, still in his pyjamas. He ends up attending Hogwarts with the 2nd generation of HP, and chaos ensues involving Org XIII and others from KH (hint nudge Awesome characters alert). Warning - Matchmakers (Boy x Boy) at work (myself or nameless others) and some swearing, namely by Axel.
1. Strange Places

Sora groaned and rolled over, snuggling into the cold bedding beneath his hands. Rubbing his cheek on his pillow happily, he frowned as the sensation manifested as scratchy and rough, and the temperature of his bedding registered… finally. It wasn't warm. It was freaking cold!

Sitting upright with a gasp, blue eyes wide in surprise and shock, Sora blinked as he came face to face with the trunk of a tree. A very large tree. The trunk was so large that Sora was certain his arms wouldn't manage to get halfway around it… if he was into hugging trees, which he certainly wasn't.

Pushing himself upright, the brunette backed up a few steps and looked up, the sheer height of the tree making him dizzy. He couldn't even see the first branches in the dull light. Shivering, he rubbed his bare arms and watched his breath mist in the cold air. Where the hell was he? Glancing around, his eyes widened as he noticed more of the same ancient trees surrounding him.

Well, he certainly wasn't at home, where he should be.

After Riku, Kairi and Sora had returned to the islands, the trio had heard very little from Donald and Goofy, and Sora had transferred back into school, dropping back a year, along with Riku, and had grumbled immensely as he was forced to study to catch up on the six months they'd missed during their travels. Now he was who knows where, and all that effort had gone down the drain. Damn he hated his life sometimes.

Shivering, Sora rubbed his arms and looked around. Casting a firaga into the trees, his eyes widened as the fire ball kept going for a good fifty metres, showing more large trees, before crashing into a tree and exploding. Sighing, he rubbed his arms again and looked around. "Great, I'm in a bloody forest."

Shrugging, the brunette decided to start walking. Maybe he'd find someone, or something, that would be able to tell him where he was. After choosing a direction and walking in that vague direction for a good twenty minutes, he frowned as his stomach growled. A white mist had rolled in a few minutes ago, chilling the already freezing temperature even more. Teeth chattering, Sora continued onwards, rubbing his arms to try and stay warm. Thin pyjamas were not a good thing to stay warm in after all, especially when it was the middle of summer at Destiny Islands.

"Alright, WHERE THE HELL AM I?" Sora finally screamed into the never ending wood with a glare. Huffing, and feeling mildly better and able to cope at his unexpected situation, Sora sat down on a root to stare at the ground and think. What should he do now?

"Ahem…" A high pitched female voice coughed politely, making the keyblade wielder stiffen in alarm. "Would you mind getting off me please?"

Turning slowly with wide eyes, Sora came face to face with a thin tree that was peering at him in curiosity. "Ah…"

"Are you alright?" the tree asked as the face engraved in the bark moved.

Sora did the one thing he could think of in a situation like this. He screamed like a little girl. Pin wheeling backwards in a panic, he slammed into another tree and managed to knock himself out.

When he awoke, he was almost blue, had a pounding headache, and when he finally managed to focus on his surroundings, found himself surrounded by horse people wielding bow and arrows as weapons that were currently trained on him. Eyes wide, Sora froze.

"What's your name?" one of the horse people asked gruffly as he approached cautiously.

"S-Sora," the brunette stammered as he stared with wide eyes, his mind quickly going into overload. "W-Where am I?"

"In the Forbidden Forest," the horse person answered in a tone of voice that sounded confused. "How did you get this far out?"

"All I know is that I went to bed in my own bed last night, I woke up this morning in the middle of a cold forest, and a tree talked to me! I have no idea where I am!" Sora replied, quickly beginning to border on hysteria.

"You're a student then?" The horse-man asked as he lowered his bow and relaxed the tension on the string.

"Of course I'm a student!" Sora yelled and stood up, not caring that the weapons centred on him more determinedly.

"What are you doing out here then?" he asked suspiciously. "You know this place is forbidden."

"I don't know WHY I'm out here! I just woke up out here!" Sora yelled bitterly and clenched his fists, feeling the early signs of crying as his eyes began to sting. "Look, if you can get me out of here, just do it! Either that or explain to me what the hell is going on."

There was a frown on the horse-man's face but he nodded, putting his arrow back into the quiver on his back, the other horse-men surrounding him taking it as a signal that they could let their own guard down a little. "Alright. We'll take you back."

"Really?" Sora asked in disbelief, his eyes wide as hope sprung up in his chest. He might finally get out of here.

"Really. My name is Firenze."

"Oh… Nice to meet you. Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm not normally like this. I just have no clue what's going on."

"That's quite alright, although I would appreciate it if you curb your anger. We are just trying to help," Firenze informed as he glanced at the others surrounding them as they began walking.

"Sorry, I'm just cold, tired, hungry and confused. I don't do well with any of those emotions alone, let alone together."

"Understandable. Are you cold now? Your lips look blue."

Nodding, Sora shivered and grimaced as his teeth started chattering. Within seconds a coat of fur was draped over his shoulders. Quickly snatching it and wrapping himself in it to get some warmth back as soon as possible, Sora smiled at the horse-man that had given it to him. "Thank you."

"It's quite a long walk back to the castle young one. Do you think you'll be able to manage?" Firenze asked in concern as he gestured at Sora's bare feet.

"I'll manage as long as I can," the keyblade wielder answered with a grimace.

Firenze nodded in satisfaction. "I wouldn't ask for anything more."

They walked in silence for a good five minutes before Sora's curiosity finally overflowed and he just had to ask. "I hate to ask and this might seem incredibly rude but, what are you?"

Firenze looked at him in confusion, eyes flicking over the brunette to look for any signs of injury, and finding none he frowned. "My kin and I are centaurs. We live in the Forbidden Forest. We read the stars."

"Oh…" Sora murmured in fascination. He'd never heard of centaurs. "How fascinating. Are you a regular occurrence on this world?"

"Our kin are few and far between, so no, we're not."

"Oh…"

They walked in silence for another half hour, the human's stomach growling loudly, and quite embarrassingly at one point.

"I would give you food, but we're only another half hour from the castle," Firenze answering sympathetically at the brunette's blush, a hint of a smile on his hairy face.

"That's fine," Sora answered with a sigh and blinked when they came across a lake. Admiring it in wonder, he frowned as he noticed the iced over edges. "What's that?"

"An alcove of the Black Lake," Firenze answered, ushering the brunette on when he paused to stop and gawk. "Keep moving."

The other Centaurs stopped the moment they passed an unidentifiable line of trees and turned and galloped back the way they came, placing arrows back in quivers and slinging bows over shoulders as they went.

"Where are they going?"

"We do not normally come out this far," the Centaur answered quietly as he began glancing around himself almost anxiously. "It's too close to the edge of the forest. We can easily be spotted from here on, and we're too easy to target. Normally I would leave you to find your own way back, but I don't believe you would be able to. I will take you to the tree line, and leave you in capable hands, but after that I'm afraid we must part ways." Making what seemed to be a measured decision, the skittish Centaur drew his bow and an arrow, nocking them together to be ready for anything.

"Thank you," Sora murmured back with a relieved smile. He wasn't sure he liked this place at all. It was too creepy.

Nodding to show he heard the spoken gratitude, Firenze remained silent. Finally, the Centaur stopped and cocked his head, listening to their surroundings. Apparently satisfied that nothing was about to launch themselves at them and attack, he put his fingers to his lips and made three long, high pitched and ear shattering whistles.

Once that was done, Sora followed Firenze's silent instructions and they moved forward another five hundred meters before pausing once again, and the Centaur sounded off the same three high pitched whistles.

This time, it was returned, and the Centaur visibly relaxed, a small smile crossing his lips. "Come, Hagrid is nearby. We will not need to leave the forest."

Following Firenze as he turned and began walking in another direction, Sora sighed happily as he began seeing patches of sunlight as the canopy thinned. After another five minute walk, the duo walked into a clearing and Sora blinked as they came face to face with a man that was a good nine feet tall, if not ten or eleven, and a class of teenagers in black robes with various coloured stripes on their uniform. That was what it looked like, seeing as they were all wearing the same style clothing.

"Firenze, wha' an honour," the giant beamed happily and walked forward.

"Hagrid, it's been a while," the Centaur greeted and stretched out a hand.

"Indeed. 'Ello, who's this then?" the giant now known as Hagrid asked with a grin as he turned to look at Sora curiously. "It's a bit cold for you to be wanderin' around in pyjama's ain't it?"

"I'm Sora, and yes, I have noticed," the brunette answered with a sheepish grin. "I couldn't help it though."

"Surely you'd know better though. It's cold here at the best of times," Hagrid replied lightly and tilted his head curiously at Sora's blush.

"Hagrid," Firenze spoke up suddenly and gestured the giant off to the side a bit. They stepped to the side and began talking in low voices.

Sora shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at the whispering class of teenagers that were about his age. They seemed normal enough, aside from the strange looking clothing. He felt like an idiot.

"Alrigh'," Hagrid finally said and nodded, turning back to face the brunette with a thoughtful look on his face. "Sora, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Let's take you up to see the Headmistress. She'll know what to do with ya."

"Um… okay."

Firenze nodded in satisfaction and stepped forward. "Sora, it was a pleasure meeting you. Unfortunately this is where I must leave you. You will be in good hands from here on. I hope that one day we will meet again, when you're warm, dressed and understanding," came the amused voice.

Sora cringed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. We will meet again young Sora. For now, farewell." With that, the Centaur turned on his heels and began cantering in the trees.

"Hey, Firenze!" Sora yelled suddenly as he raced forward a few steps, grinning as he noticed the Centaur stop. 

"Yes?"

"How did you find me?"

The Centaur smirked. "Simple. We followed the screams."

At Sora's blush, Firenze laughed and galloped off into the trees and out of sight.

"Come on, let's get you up to see the Headmistress and she can decide what to do with ya. Class dismissed!" Hagrid yelled and clapped a very large hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Glancing up at the enormous man with a hint of nervousness, Sora swallowed and allowed himself to be guided out of the forest.

"So how'd a small tyke like you end up in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid asked once they were well on their way up the hill after they'd left the forest.

"I honestly don't know. Last night I was in bed and this morning when I woke up I was lying underneath a tree in the freezing cold. You're about as confused as I am."

"Hmm… What house are you in?"

"House?"

"Judgin' by the way you look I'd say you're Hufflepuff. Damn those Ravenclaws. Don' worry. The Headmistress will see to it that they get a suitable punishment."

"Okay…?" Sora murmured and turned his attention to the enormous castle walls they were approaching. Eyes wide, he stared up at it in fascination. "Oh wow."

"Yeah, it's breathtaking ain't it? It still gives me goose pimples every time I see it, especially after the war and You-Know-Who was killed."

"You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah, ya know, Lord Voldemort." A hard edge crossed Hagrid's expression and his eyes hardened in anger and fear. "The very impression of the devil incarnate himself. He definitely won't be missed."

Eyes shifting back to the footpath to watch where he was going, Sora looked up as they passed through a stone archway and stared around wide eyed as they walked through the stone courtyard, passing students carrying books on their way to lessons and laughing loudly without giving him a second glance.

"Come on, this way," Hagrid urged and they walked through a large set of double doors and up a large set of steps to the first floor. They walked until they came to a stone gargoyle and Hagrid stopped. "Primrose Malifis," Hagrid spoke and Sora jumped as the stone gargoyle leapt to the side, revealing a set of steps that went up. "Come on, up you go," the giant urged and pushed the brunette up the steps, quickly following him.

The stopped at a door and Sora surged forward to open it, stepping into an enormous office. Hagrid stepped in behind him as the brunette stared around him in awe. There were objects here that looked like nothing he'd ever seen before. There were any number of paintings lining the walls, that all appeared to have people in them that were sleeping, and at the desk was an elderly woman dressed in green with a tall pointed hat and sharp eyes, looking at them curiously.

"Hagrid, what can I do for you?"

"Firenze found poor Sora here lost in the Forbidden Forest this morning. Claims he has no idea how he got there, poor thing. I say it was those damn Ravenclaw's or Slytherin's. No bloody good any of 'em."

"Sora you say?" the witch-like woman asked curiously as he looked him up and down. "What house are you from?"

"Uh… As in school house?"

"What other house would I be talking about?" she asked, obviously not impressed.

"Um… Chifton?" he tried hopefully and bit his lip anxiously.

Her lips pursed together in annoyance. "I do not appreciate the sarcasm Mr…" she trailed off looking for a name, obviously.

"Sora. Sora Hikari."

The Headmistress frowned and pulled a file out of her desk, looking through it. She looked up sharply once she'd gone through a section of papers twice. Pursing her lips together again, she studied him scrutinisingly. "Are you a muggle?" she asked cautiously.

"A what?" Sora asked in confusion, tilting his head to the side.

"Can you use magic?" She elaborated carefully.

"Yes…" Sora answered in an unsure voice, shying back a bit. This woman was giving him the creeps a bit.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen…"

"Do you attend Hogwarts?"

"What's that?" Sora asked in confusion and jerked back a little as both Hagrid's and Headmistress' eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Hogwarts is where you are now Sora," the Headmistress explained carefully. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"You're kidding, right?" The brunette asked in disbelief. Sure, he'd met Yen Sid and Merlin, who were Wizards, but they were the only Wizards he'd ever met. Sure, Sora could use magic, but aside from his elemental magic that was it.

"Give the boy a break Minerva," a kind voice suddenly interjected as it entered the conversation, and Sora's head flew around in surprise as he went looking for the owner of the new voice. "Can't you see he's not from this world? Just the way he's dressed should be enough indication."

Understanding suddenly dawned on both Hagrid and the headmistress' faces. "Of course, that's why I've never heard of you," she murmured and smiled, as though everything was suddenly making sense. "So your name is Sora Hikari?" she asked and Sora nodded, still looking around for the owner of the voice.

"Over here dear boy," the voice answered with a chuckle and Sora blinked as he found a portrait of an old man waving at him, an amused gleam to his eyes.

The brunette's eyes widened even further, his jaw going slack as he stared at the painting in disbelief. The picture was waving at him. _Talking _to him! The man in the portrait smiled and nodded, as though reading his mind. It took all of Sora five seconds to process this fact, before his brain did the first thing it could do. It lit up like a light bulb. "That is SO COOL!" Sora practically squealed as he raced over and began checking the portrait over with wide eyes, lifting it away from the wall to check the back of it to see if there was any technology. "How do you do it?"

"Oh, just a bit of paint, some soul binding and a little magic. Nothing too complicated," an unfamiliar voice drawled a little further over and Sora backed up to stare at a portrait of a greasy black haired man next to the one he was standing in front of.

"Severus, give the boy a chance to explore what he's seeing," the first portrait of the white haired old man scolded lightly, a bright twinkle to his eye as he winked at Sora, who grinned back, feeling completely ecstatic. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. You're Sora Hikari?"

"Yeah," he answered in surprise and stepped back, placing his hands behind his back to stop them from reaching out to touch the other painting as well. He was sure he'd find the same thing there. Absolutely nothing.

A smile seemed to touch the elderly man's lips at the brunette's antics. "Welcome to Hogwarts dear boy."

"Thank you. Now, how do I get back home?" Sora asked, looking back at the headmistress.

"Thank you Hagrid, you can go," the stern looking woman dismissed with a smile, obviously avoiding the question.

"Sure thing Headmistress," he replied brightly with a smile as he turned and began walking heavily back towards the door. "See ya la'er Sora. Bye Dumbledore!"

"Bye! It was nice meeting you," Sora called after him.

The door closed before it opened again a moment later and Hagrid's head popped back through the door. "Oh, Headmistress, before I forget, Firenze said to tell you that young Sora 'ere is 'ere for a reason. They're gonna scry the stars and let me know as soon as they find something."

"Alright, thank you Hagrid," the headmistress replied with a smile. "Let me know as soon as you find out."

"Will do." The door shut again as the bearded face disappeared through the crack in the door.

"Now, why don't you tell us where you're from Mr Hikari," Dumbledore urged as soon as the door was shut. "Then maybe we can help you."

Breathing out heavily, Sora explained about the island and his friends. By the time he finished he was groaning and clutching at his hair. "My mother is going to kill me, again!"

"Why is that?" the Headmistress asked curiously.

"This isn't the first time I've disappeared," the brunette answered dryly.

"How did you get here?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"I honestly don't know. I went to bed last night and woke up in the forest this morning."

"Hmm… how far in?"

"About an hour's walk?"

The old wizard gained a thoughtful expression. "How curious."

"What should we do for the time being Albus?"

"How would you feel about attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Albus Dumbledore asked merrily.

"Would I ever!" Sora answered happily with a grin.

Both sets of blue eyes turned to face the headmistress expectantly. She sighed and smiled. "Alright. But first, you need a house." She stood up and walked over to a shelf, where the elderly witch reached up and pulled down an old tattered hat.

Sora looked at it curiously. "What's that?"

"This is the sorting hat. It will decide what house you will fit into best."

"Oh…" Tilting his head curiously, Sora studied it as the headmistress approached and held the hat over his head, wondering how it would do that. Maybe it would spit out different coloured confetti or sparks when he put it on. That would be kind of cool.

"Ready?" the headmistress asked with a soothing smile.

Nodding determinedly, Sora stood straight and took in a deep breath as the hat was placed on his head.

"Hmm…What do we have here?" a deep and rough voice asked in amusement.

Sora jumped in fright as he heard the hat chuckle and glanced around the room, catching sight of the other people in the portraits listening intently, and the soothing smile of Albus Dumbledore and the Headmistress. "Is this normal?" he asked quickly, fighting to keep his breath even. "Hats talking when you put them on?"

"No, only this hat," Dumbledore soothed with a smile and wink.

"Oh good," he answered faintly and drew in a deep breath, jumping again when the hat laughed.

"I see you are not used to our world Sora Hikari. You have travelled the universe saving it from the darkness. A very brave quest, even if it was forced on you. Your friends were your support these past three years. Your friendliness could also place you in Hufflepuff, but I see you are destined for greater than making friends. I say… GRYFFINDOR!" the hat suddenly announced loudly and there was a loud chorus of cheering from the portraits and a happy smile from the Headmistress and Albus.

Severus just sulked and crossed his arms, turning away from the happy celebration.

Sora removed the hat with a sigh of relief.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Mr Hikari," the witch greeted happily and took the hat, placing it back on the top shelf.

"Thanks…" Sora murmured. "Um… what do I do now?"

"Now I will take you up to the Gryffindor Dormitories and inform Professor Vane about you."

"Who?"

"Professor Vane. She's the head of Gryffindor and teaches Arithmancy."

"Arith-what?"

"Mathematics you twit," Severus growled and Sora winced.

"Does that mean I actually have to pay attention in her classes?"

There was amused laughter from the black haired man as he crossed his arms and leant back, looking at the brunette in amusement. "What do you know? I might actually grow to like a Gryffindor."

"That'll be a first," one of the elderly witches in a portrait on the other side of the room muttered sarcastically.

Dumbledore just laughed and the headmistress rolled her eyes like this was a normal occurrence.

"Come on. Let's go and get you settled in. I think Professor Longbottom has the afternoon off. I'll get him to take you into Diagon Alley to get you some robes books and a wand. You'll need an owl as well of course."

"Okay…"

"Good luck! Have fun!" Dumbledore called out behind him and Sora waved as the two real people left the office.

"I will. Bye!"

The heavy wooden door shut behind them and Sora jumped as the gargoyle leapt aside again. Well, it looked like he was staying here for a while. May as well get used to it. Sighing, the keyblade master turned and readied himself for Hogwarts School of Magic.


	2. Shopping

_The heavy wooden door shut behind them and Sora jumped as the gargoyle leapt aside again. Well, it looked like he was staying here for a while. May as well get used to it. Sighing, the keyblade master turned and readied himself for Hogwarts School of Magic. _

As the Headmistress and Sora stepped out onto the cold stone floor, the brunette immediately found himself missing the brilliant warmth of the office he'd just been in. Shivering, he quickened his steps and followed the stern looking woman through the now deserted corridors. They walked into a tall room with stairs and as Sora looked up, his jaw slackened in wonder as he watched the giant stone steps swinging themselves around as though with minds of their own. "Kingdom Hearts almighty," Sora swore in disbelief and quickly raced up the stairs to catch up with his guide.

"Be careful of the stairs. They will move while you're standing on them," she warned and started up another flight of stairs, this one moving while they were on them.

Gripping the side for a few seconds to steady himself, Sora quickly followed her, ignoring the already dizzying drop below them.

They reached the seventh floor and walked along a corridor, the people in the portraits following them with interest, until they stopped in front of a painting of a very large woman dressed in pink and some other fashion. She beamed at them when she saw them.

"Professor McGonagall! I haven't seen you up here in years! How have you been? Oh, hello? Who's this then?" she asked, peering around the tall and thin witch to peer at Sora with interest.

"This is Sora Hikari, the new Gryffindor student."

"Oh, that's you! I heard the ghosts spreading rumours that there was a new boy, but I thought that was impossible. It seems they were right."

"Ghosts?" Sora squeaked and paled.

The woman in the painting laughed and smiled at him soothingly. "Oh they're not bad ghosts my dear. I wouldn't worry. I'm sure you'll see that when you meet them."

Sora paled further.

"I'm sorry to cut you off, but you wouldn't happen to have seen Professor Longbottom around would you?" the Headmistress, now known as Professor McGonagall asked.

"Neville? Goodness no. I have seen Romilda though. She's teaching at the moment I believe."

"I won't disturb her right now then, thank you."

"You're very welcome."

"_Toffee Pancakes_."

The fat lady sighed in disappointment and smiled at Sora. "Oh all right. I will see you later Sora Hikari," she murmured with a wink as the portrait swung inwards. The two of them passed through into a glaringly red lounge like area.

"This is the Gryffindor Common Room. _Toffee Pancakes_ is the password this week, so you'd better remember it if you want to get in."

"Okay, thank you," Sora murmured and blinked as someone sprinted down a set of concealed steps and froze.

"Mr Weasley, shouldn't you be in class?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly and with a disappointed scowl.

"Ah… yes Headmistress… sorry… I was just getting some books I forgot. Professor Flitwick said we needed them this lesson."

"Hmm… alright, hurry along," she allowed and the red headed boy grinned and gave Sora a curious look before darting out past the portrait and down the corridor.

"Who was that?" Sora asked curiously as he stared after the red head.

"Hugo Weasley. He's a fourth year. I'm sure you'll get to know him. He's quite a well-known favourite amongst the Gryffindor students," she informed with a small smile. "If you'd like to wait here Mr Hikari, I shall be back in a few minutes. Feel free to explore the Gryffindor section until I get back. Boys dormitories are up the stairs and to the right, girls to the left. Don't try to enter the girls' dorms. You'll be hexed more than likely."

"Oh… okay…"

Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction and swept out of the common room.

Blowing his fringe out of his eyes, Sora swung his arms back and forth and let his eyes wander around the red and gold room, chewing his bottom anxiously. Breathing in through his teeth, creating a hissing sound, the brunette carefully sat down on one of the couches and stared at the fire. "This is so weird," he murmured and stood up again, beginning to pace.

After a couple of minutes Sora's curiosity got the better of him and his gaze drifted in the direction of the stairs to the dormitories. Well, the headmistress had said he was allowed to go up there. Following his eyes, Sora slowly and carefully walked up the stairs, peering around corners before he appeared around them completely. After a couple of turns, he managed to reach what he assumed were the boys dormitories, and walked into a room that was filled with beds and smiled as he noticed how each bed was made, and how others had mess cluttering the floor or beds, or there were wrinkles in the covers.

Turning around, Sora jumped and clutched at his chest as he realised there was someone behind him. "Sheesh! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack," he complained as he took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself, taking a good look at his surpriser while he could. The boy had relatively long sandy blond hair and brown eyes. He was wearing what Sora assumed was a Gryffindor uniform with the red colouring mixed in with the black robe.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the boy asked as he gripped Sora's pyjama's in his fist and dragged him forward, shoving a stick under his chin with the other.

"Um…Good question…" Sora murmured and frowned as he tried to figure out the reason for the stick. "The headmistress left me here. She said I could look around. Would you mind letting me go please?"

"Not likely," the blond retorted and dug the stick in further, obviously trying to make it seem threatening. "Are you Slytherin? Why haven't I seen you around before?"

"I-I'm new! And it's true! As to what house I'm in, I'm in Gryffindor." A glimmer of doubt wormed its way into the boy's eyes and the tension on his shirt lessened a little before the hard light was back.

"Yeah right. Stupefy."

Groaning, Sora cringed and clutched at his head, blinking when he found himself staring up at a red washed wall and ceiling. Where was… oh…. Right… Hogwarts…

"Are you awake?" A nervous looking brunette adult asked as he swam into the keyblade wielders vision.

"Yeah…" he groaned and pushed himself upright slowly. "What happened?"

"You got stupefied," came the angry and accusing answer as a glare was thrown in the blond boy's direction. "How are you feeling?"

"A little light headed, and my legs are sore. Other than that pretty okay."

"That's probably because you got dragged down the stairs in the nastiest humane way possible."

"Oh…"

"Yeah… oh, sorry, I'm Professor Longbottom. You were probably wondering who I was," the man quickly introduced with a bright smile and held out a hand.

"Not particularly at the moment," Sora answered truthfully and took the hand with a smile of his own. "I'm Sora; although I have a feeling you already know that."

"I do. Do you feel up to some shopping?"

"Sure," the brunette answered and stood up, swayed a second before steadying and turning to face the boy that had accosted him earlier with a curious smile. "Are you coming with us?"

"No, Mr Towler here was just going back to class, right?" Professor Longbottom asked darkly and raised his eyebrows at the boy, who squeaked and scuttled out of the common room as quickly as he could. "Now, how about we get you some decent clothes?" the male asked brightly as soon as the portrait shut. "We can't have you looking like that, can we?"

"Um…no?" Sora replied questioningly as he looked down at his pyjamas and looked back up at the beaming professor.

"No, of course not. Now, what should we dress you up in?" he asked, pulling a stick out of a pocket in his robes. Sora gave the man a weird look. What was with this world and sticks? "You know what? Let's go through the cupboard and see what we have there. Follow me."

Neville swept out of the Gryffindor Common room and Sora quickly followed. They walked down two flights of stairs until they reached the fifth floor and continued along until they reached a portrait of a stiff looking man in a starched suit.

"_Incarcerous," _Professor Longbottom announced and the painting looked down its nose at them but opened anyway. The older man walked through and Sora was quick to follow, looking behind them nervously as the painting swung shut again. "Come on. Let's find you something."

A sharp pop had Sora jumping in surprise as a small creature with pointed ears appeared, dressed in what looked like rags. "Good day Master Longbottom and Master….?" The creature trailed off and looked at Sora curiously, obviously searching for a name.

"This is Sora Hikari. He's new," Professor Longbottom introduced with a grin.

"Pedra is sorry Master Hikari!" The creature squeaked as it bowed quite low. "Pedra is ashamed for not knowing Master Hikari's name!"

"It's alright. I wouldn't expect you to know my name," Sora quickly threw in and threw a questioning look at the older man, who quickly interjected.

"We need to get Sora some clothes. You don't think you could help us, could you?"

"Certainly!" the creature squeaked happily and waved a hand, a measuring tape flying off a shelf as it began measuring Sora by itself in mid-air. "If Master Hikari could put his arms up please?"

Complying and putting them in the air, he grinned and watched curiously as the measuring tape floated around. "So… forgive me for being rude, but what are you exactly Pedra?" Sora asked curiously as the creature scurried around him for a few minutes.

"Pedra is a house elf. Surely Master Hikari is knowing that?" She asked curiously, hardly pausing in her task.

"Um… no… I'm not from around here. I've never seen a house elf."

"Well, now Master Hikari has," she squeaked with a smile. "If Master Hikari would mind waiting here, Pedra will gather the clothes that will be fitting Master Hikari for Master Hikari to be trying on." Without waiting for an answer, she darted off into the rows of clothes that were hanging up.

"She's good at what she does," Professor Longbottom noted almost absently as he stared after her.

Within a few seconds, clothes began flying out of their own accord and presented themselves in front of Sora for inspection.

"These be all the clothes we have in Master Hikari's size," Pedra announced as she appeared again and gestured at the 15 sets of clothes that were hanging in mid-air.

"Um… these ones," Sora decided and nodded to a pair of faded blue jeans and a striped long sleeve shirt, with a dark blue jumper over the top.

"Now we just need shoes," Neville decided and Pedra nodded rapidly and waved again, the chosen clothes folding themselves while the others whizzed back to where they came, and a choice of about ten pairs of shoes flew out to replace the clothes.

"Joggers," Sora decided firmly and pointed to a pair of dirty white trainers that looked vaguely new.

"Socks?" Neville asked and a pair presented themselves. "Do you need underwear?"

Blushing, Sora shook his head. "I have some on. Can we get some more while we're out today?"

"Of course," Professor Longbottom agreed instantly. "Go and get dressed and we'll get going before the crowds set in. This is going to take us a few hours."

Nodding, Sora was shown to a changing room by Pedra and he quickly changed. Walking out, he smiled at the two that were waiting for him and folded up his pyjamas.

"Feel better?" Neville asked with a grin.

"Definitely," the brunette decided with a grin.

"Good. Give Pedra your pyjamas and she'll wash and name them for you while we're gone."

"Oh… okay. Are you sure?" he asked, looking at the elf nervously.

She smiled up at him and reached for the clothes, which he handed to her.

"Thank you."

"Master Hikari is welcome."

"Thankyou Pedra. You've been a big help. Come along Mr Hikari."

"Can't you just call me Sora? That sounds so weird," the brunette grumbled as he trailed out after the herbology professor.

"You'd better get used to it," Neville teased with a laugh. "It's what all your teachers are going to be calling you while you're here."

"Yay…"

"Come on. Shall we go, or do you want food? I was planning on getting you something in town."

"Town," Sora decided and quickened his steps to catch up. "Let's go."

"Alright. I have money from Professor McGonagall so we just need to head to her office."

"Let's go then."

Sora's first floo travelling experience was nothing like what he would have expected. He'd looked at Neville in concern when the man told him to grab a handful of the green powder and throw it into the fire, state "The Leaky Cauldron," very clearly and then step into the green flames. Once he'd actually done it, he'd staggered and stumbled forwards to stop himself from falling on his face when he'd emerged on the other side, his head swimming.

Clearing his head by shaking it a little, Sora blinked and looked around the dark and dingy pub and watched with interest as people did bits of magic like stirring spoons in mugs of water. The fire flared up behind him and no one batted an eyelid as Professor Longbottom stepped out of the fire place and smiled at him. "You made it alright then?"

"Yeah… I guess. I think I'm still in one piece."

"It's much safer than apparating," Neville agreed and turned to walk towards the other side of the pub, nodding to the bar manager as he passed. Sora caught up quickly and followed, his head swivelling a full 180 degree's constantly to try and take everything in. "Come on, in here."

Blinking and focusing again, the brunette quickly darted into the room and blinked as they came face to face with a brick wall. Watching in confusion as Neville pulled out his wand and tapped a sequence onto the bricks, Sora's mouth dropped open in shock as they began rearranging themselves to create an archway and reveal the town behind the wall.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Neville said gently with a laugh as he noticed how slack the brunette's facial muscles were. "Come on. We haven't got much time until rush hour starts. I want to get as much done as possible."

Following the herbology professor on autopilot, Sora walked slowly so as to take in everything there was to take in. Witches and wizards walked past, younger children staring at something in the windows while their parents tried to urge them onwards; the store with owls, cats and rats sitting around outside, along with some other trade bits and pieces.

"Come on, I'll show you all the places I liked when I was your age," the man urged with a grin and waved his charge into a store called Flourish and Blotts. "This is the best store to get stationary and prank objects, not including Weasley Wizarding Wheezers."

"Wow…"

"Go and have a look around. I want to find something while we're here." With that, Neville darted into one of the isles and quickly disappeared from sight.

Grinning, Sora quickly set off down the aisle closest to him. This was going to be fun.

Walking out of the store twenty minutes later with a few sweets, some quills, parchment, a new bag and a few other bits and bobs, Professor Longbottom ushered him over to Madame Malkin's and quickly ordered a new set of school robes for Sora. Just like with Pedra, tape measures began swirling around him even before he was ushered onto a stand and told to stand with his arms out.

Within a couple of minutes three robes flew out and draped themselves over the back of a chair. Sora tried them all on dutifully and stood there as the witch tucked pins into areas and fussed over creases.

Half an hour later they were shooed out with instructions to come back in an hour. Neville dragged Sora to the book shop for text books, to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Sora decided he didn't want an owl when given the choice. He wanted a cat. Besides, who was he going to send an owl to in this world? Huffing in frustration, they headed to Ollivander's, which had re-opened a few years after the demise of Voldermort, Neville explained.

They walked in and Sora blinked and looked around at the overly clean shop that looked like it had been completely reorganised only a few days previously.

"Can I help you?" an old man asked as he appeared around the corner, a curious look on his face as his icy blue eyes zoned in on Sora sharply. "Hello, I don't think I've seen you in my store before," the man greeted knowingly as he stepped forward with a smile. "My name is Ollivander, the finest wand maker known today."

"Sora," the brunette greeted and held out a hand, which the man shook before holding his hand in place and studying it.

"And how are you young Mr Longbottom? I trust that wand of yours has been working better since you got one to suit yourself?" came the whispy question even as Sora's hand was being studied.

"Yes, it's been working fine. How have you been?" Neville asked pleasantly as he took up residence near an open window.

"A little tired lately, but other than that, never better. Right young man, I know just the wand for you. Wait here." Turning, the old man walked back down a corridor until he came to a section and reached up to pull out a box. Walking back, he offered the end of the open box to Sora, who reached in and drew out a stick that looked like the others he'd seen today. "Holly, eight inches, with a griffin hair," the man announced proudly and stood back.

Blinking, Sora looked at the supposed 'wand' in confusion. What was he supposed to do with a stick?

"Well… give it a wave!" Ollivander announced irritably and the brunette complied, flicking the wand and jumping as the light bulbs in the ceiling shattered. "Apparently not…" the man muttered and took the stick back, walking back down the aisle and pulling out another box, presenting it end first to Sora, who pulled out another wand and gave it a flick. This time all the windows shattered.

Another wand was pulled down and as the keyblader flicked it, a flock of chickens poured out the end, screeching and clucking madly as they scattered, leaving a mess of feathers and a shocked Sora behind. "We're getting there," Ollivander cackled as he retrieved the wand being tested and went for another one. The next one handed to him sent poor Neville diving out the window to avoid being hexed by a suspicious green light. "Almost!" The next wand splintered the wooden shelves. "Definitely not."

By now, Sora was feeling pretty nervous about trying anymore wands and eyed the next one being brought out to him warily. Waving it in the air, he blinked as a stream of water flowed out gently and whirled up above them before splattering on the floor. Moving to hand it back, expecting it to be taken, Sora blinked as he noticed the smile on the elderly man's face. "Ah, we found it. Good. That took longer than I expected."

"All done?" Neville asked nervously from outside the window.

"Yes, we've found it!" Ollivander announced loudly and smiled as the herbology professor climbed back in through the window and cringed at the hole in the wall where the green light had hit.

"Oh good. That was nasty."

"I can certainly say I've had worse."

"Worse than that?" Sora squeaked and glanced down at his new stick in almost terror.

"Most definitely."

"What's it made of?" Neville asked curiously as he walked closer for inspection.

"Twelve and a half inches of maple wood, infused with a single Unicorn hair from a very fine mare, and quite pliable, which is good for charms."

"Oh good, you'll be one of Professor Flitwick's favourites then, if you can manage to catch up and learn enough."

"Yay…"

"Thankyou Ollivander. How much for the wand?"

The two men walked over to the counter discussing costs while Sora turned his attention to the wand in his hands. It was pretty, that was for sure, but what was it supposed to do? Who better to ask than a wand maker?

Turning, he walked over to where Neville was handing over some money and waited until they finished their conversation. "Yes Mr HikarI?" Ollivander asked curiously when they paused.

"Um… this is probably going to sound stupid… but what is the wand for?"

Both wizards stared at Sora in shock before Neville shook himself out of it. "Professor McGonagall said you wouldn't understand much," he muttered before sighing pulling out his own wand. "Mr Hikari, wands are how we use our magic. They're the medium we use to control what sorts of spells we want to perform and on what. Without them, our magic tends to go out of control, especially when we're younger and emotions like anger are present. Each wand is specific to a person, and they get chosen depending on their magic style and personality. Mine is cherry wood with a unicorn hair."

"Unicorn tail hair," Ollivander corrected with a smile. "Mr Hikari, it is not the wizard that chooses the wand. It is the wand that chooses the wizard. That is why there is so much trial and testing, and my shop tends to get mangled in the process."

A smile slipped onto Sora's face as he looked down at the wand in his hands. "Thank you," he murmured and looked back up at them with a bright smile.

"Yes, thankyou Mr Ollivander," Neville echoed and began steering Sora out of the shop. "We should go and pick up his robes. You know how Madame Malkin gets when you're late picking up clothes."

"Ah, only too well," came the wistful response as they were waved away and the old wand maker pulled out his own wand.

"Well, that's almost all the essentials covered," Professor Longbottom announced and turned to him with a smile. "Lunch here or back at the school?"

"Here," Sora decided firmly as they walked towards Madame Malkin's.

The duo appeared back in the Headmistress' office a few hours later, Sora stumbling to keep his balance as he was half thrown out of the fire.

"Ah, Professor Longbottom, Mr Hikari, perfect timing," Professor McGonagall greeted with a smile as she noticed the bags Sora was carrying. "What pet did you get?"

"A cat," Neville announced as he held up the ball of black and brown fluff that was inside the cage he was carrying. It looked petrified. "We had to go to a muggle pet store."

"May I have a look?" the old witch asked curiously as she stood up. The herbology professor walked over and put the cage on her desk. The black and brown ball of fluff had all its fur standing on end as its blue eyes narrowed in on the headmistress as she looked it over expertly and nodded. "She's a good cat. What's her name?"

"Baubles," Sora answered immediately and blinked as a he was stared at by three pairs of eyes. "What? I've always wanted a pet called Baubles."

"Never mind," Neville answered with a shake of his head. "Professor McGonagall, should I take Mr Hikari back to the Gryffindor tower and help him get settled in?"

"Please," she agreed and smiled at Sora when the male professor picked up the cage again. "I will see you at breakfast tomorrow Mr Hikari. Unfortunately I will not be available to introduce you to the school at tonight's feast, so I will have to wait until tomorrow night. Classes will start for you tomorrow morning. Are you satisfied with that?"

"Ah, yes," he answered in surprise and smiled at her before following Professor Longbottom out of the office with his armful of books, robes and other bits and pieces.

"Right, to the Gryffindor Common Room we go," Neville announced cheerfully as he stepped off in the direction of the seventh floor.

Sighing, Sora grimaced a little before quickly following. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long to get this one posted. It's also pretty dull. I promise the next one will be more interesting.<p>

Vex


	3. Meeting the Clan

"_I will see you at breakfast tomorrow Mr Hikari. Unfortunately I will not be available to introduce you to the school at tonight's feast, so I will have to wait until tomorrow night. Classes will start for you tomorrow morning. Are you satisfied with that?" _

"_Ah, yes," he answered in surprise and smiled at her before following Professor Longbottom out of the office with his armful of books, robes and other bits and pieces. _

"_Right, to the Gryffindor Common Room we go," Neville announced cheerfully as he stepped off in the direction of the seventh floor. _

_Sighing, Sora grimaced a little before quickly following. This was going to be a long night._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

As soon as the duo entered the Gryffindor Common Room a fairly young and dark haired woman stood up from the couch where she was seated and approached them with a smile.

"Professor Vane!" Neville greeted brightly as he carefully placed the cat on the table, Sora following his example and gratefully dropping his armful onto the table as well. "Sorry for taking so long. I hope you weren't waiting long?"

"Only five minutes or so Professor Longbottom," she soothed and turned brown eyes on Sora curiously. "So this is Mr Hikari. I must say, I'm intrigued."

"Pleased to meet you," Sora greeted, sounding a little confused.

"Oh, sorry Mr Hikari. This is Professor Vane. She's the head of Gryffindor and she teaches Arithmancy," Neville quickly introduced with a smile.

"Oh, you're the maths teacher," the brunette keyblader replied unenthusiastically.

She flicked her eyes over him with a raised eyebrow. "We call it Arithmancy here at Hogwarts Mr Hikari. I would also appreciate it if you would show a little more enthusiasm while I'm within hearing range."

"Sorry…"

"Quite alright." She turned to Professor Longbottom with a smile. "Neville, you can go if you like. Thank you for taking care of him in my charge. I know it was your time off."

"Hey, no problem. Do you want me to hang around and help unpack?"

"No, it's alright. If you want to go, go."

Taking a deep breath, the herbology professor turned regretful eyes on Sora. "I'd better. I had a stack of marking I was going to do today, and I was planning on getting some weeding done. Some of the plants are looking a little choked."

"It's alright. Thank you for taking me shopping," Sora said with a smile.

The man relaxed and smiled, nodding gratefully. "You're welcome. Well, I'll see you at dinner Romilda. Goodbye Mr Hikari."

"Bye," the brunette echoed and the two watched as Neville walked swiftly out of the Gryffindor tower.

"Right," Professor Vane began the moment the portrait shut. "Let's go and get you settled in upstairs." She grabbed the cat cage and a few books with a smile and waited for Sora to quickly gather the rest before setting off up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

They entered the dormitory and Sora noted curiously that it only had eleven beds. He could have sworn that Gryffindor would have had more than this?

"This is the fourth year boys dorm. You'll be sleeping in this bed over here," the Gryffindor head instructed and placed the cat carrier on the bed, along with the books she'd carted up. "There's a trunk for you at the end of the bed to place everything. That includes books, clothes and any odd bits of whatever it is you may own. I don't care, as long as it's nothing dangerous or inappropriate like pornography, although I doubt Professor Longbottom would have let you anywhere near the magazines if his life depended on it, which it does. As long as you keep your area clean, I don't care what you do. Understood?"

"Clearly," Sora answered with a nod.

"Good. Now, you can keep those clothes, seeing as I was told you turned up in nothing but your pyjamas. "

"If I'd known I was going to be transported to another world during the night I would have worn warm clothes and packed a bag full of stuff," the brunette grumbled.

A grin quirked at the corners of the female teacher's mouth. "I have no doubt of that. Now, another thing. I think it's best that you don't reveal that you have come from another world. We might accept that, but a lot of the students here will not."

"Then what do we tell everyone?"

"That you're an undiscovered wizard that was muggle born."

"Muggle…?" Sora asked, recalling that Neville had used that same word earlier.

"Non-magic user. Your parents can't use magic."

"Oh… So… we're keeping this secret?"

"Yes. Unless you don't want to? It would be in your best interest to do so for the first week or so at least."

"Maybe then…"

"Alright. Now, have you used magic before?"

"I know a few spells."

"Using a wand?"

"Um… no, none. Sorry."

The female head smiled sadly and shook her head. "You're in for a shock Sora. Normally you would be in sixth year because you're sixteen, but because of your inability to use magic we've dropped you back two years. I hope you don't mind."

"I'm used to it."

"Anyway, I'll talk to one of the students and get her to show you the basics and start you on the first year spells. You can practice those in your own time."

"Okay," Sora agreed, actually mildly excited to be studying for the first time ever. It's amazing what new subjects could have you revved to actually learn something. Especially magic. He'd always found those lessons in Merlin's attic fun.

"Now, we have an hour before the other students get in, so I'll leave you to unpack yourself, if that's okay. I have a few errands to run. Don't bother getting changed into the uniform unless you wish to. We're not expecting you to join us for dinner tonight. I've asked the house elves to send up a tray of food and leave it in the common room for you on the table."

"Um… thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in about an hour." With one last smile Romilda Vane swept out of the fourth year dorms and Sora was left alone.

Sighing, he turned to the now irritable cat that was sitting on his bed. "Well Baubles, it's just you and me for an hour."

The black and brown cat purred in response, her tail twitching inside the cage.

"Just let me settle in and then I'll let you out," Sora sighed and quickly started stacking books up in his trunk, the robes on the other side. Within five minutes he was done, and the keyblader sat down on the bed and lifted the latch of the cage, opening it and dragging his new pet out, who was glaring at him with her blue eyes. He patted her a few times, and within seconds she was purring happily and tilting her head as he scratched behind her ears.

After she started getting itchy feet, Sora put her down and watched as she shook herself, did a couple of laps of the room and came back to the brunette, sat on his feet and then proceeded to lick herself.

Shaking his head, Sora just looked at her in amazement. Cats were incredible.

…And he finally had a pet called Baubles. Just wait until he told Riku.

"Whoa… who are you?" a black haired boy asked as he entered the room, blinking and staring in confusion.

Sora looked up from the piece of parchment he'd been doodling on and smiled at the teen. "Oh, hey. My name is Sora. I'm starting tomorrow."

"Albus," the boy greeted with a smile as he placed his books on the bed next to the brunette's. "I'm Albus Potter."

"Nice to meet you," Sora greeted again and sat up, earning a growl from his new pet as the bed moved. "Are you a wizard?"

"Um… yeah. Everyone here is," the black haired teen replied in confusion. "Aren't you?"

"I guess…"

"Why are you starting so late? Transferring? And you look older than fourteen years old."

"Professor Vane says I'm an undiscovered muggle born," Sora replied with a shrug. "I'm starting tomorrow."

"In fourth year?"

"Yeah."

"You can't be fourteen."

"I'm sixteen actually," Sora replied with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm confused," Albus replied with a shake of his head. "Anyway, do you want to come down and meet my family? If you're in Gryffindor you may as well get to know the Weasley and Potter family now." The black haired wizard flashed him a grin.

"Sure." Hopping up off the bed, Sora patted his new pet, earning a purr from her. "I'll see you later Baubles. Be a good cat until I get back."

"Baubles?" Albus asked in confusion.

"My cat. I got her today. Isn't she cute? I always wanted a cat, but mum always told me no because dad's allergic to cats."

"That's a shame. My Aunty Hermione likes cats. Uncle Ron hates them though. I'm not sure why. He's always bad mouthing Aunty Hermione's cats and they usually end up arguing about them."

"He doesn't like cats?"

"I don't know. I've asked but Aunty Hermione insists that Uncle Ron is just being silly and there's nothing not to like about cats. Dad says they've always been like that though."

"Sounds like a rather confusing family," Sora replied as they walked down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. It was now filled with students in black school robes with what he assumed was the Gryffindor symbol on the front.

"You get used to it. Come on, before Hugo runs away." Albus grabbed his arm and dragged Sora over, who was blushing under the confused looks he was getting as the common room got a little noisier. They approached a group of red headed students that were laughing, a red headed girl yelling at a laughing male. "Hey guys!"

"Albus! What took you so long?" the red headed male who was laughing yelled. "Hey, who's this? Surely you're not dumping the snake for him."

"Score and I aren't dating! And he's not a snake," Albus retorted with a scowl.

"He's in Slytherin. That makes him a snake," the teen retorted with a sneer before focusing on Sora. "So who's this?"

"Oh, this is Sora. He's starting tomorrow in fourth year."

"Nice to meet you Sora," A frizzy haired red head greeted with a smile as she looked up from her book and held out a hand. "My name is Rose Weasley. I'm also in fourth year."

"Nice to meet you too," Sora greeted as he took the hand and shook it with a smile.

"Anyway, this is my older brother James," Albus introduced, waving a hand towards the red headed male that had addressed them before. "My younger sister Lily," he gestured to the red headed girl that had been yelling at James earlier.

She was red faced, obviously angry but nodded back politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Sora replied with a smile before turning his attention to the others.

"You've met Rose, my cousin," Albus continued with a smile. "This is Hugo, her younger brother."

"Hey again," Hugo greeted with a grin and a wave. "I was wondering if I'd run into you again."

"Yeah, same here," Sora replied with a smile, noting him as the 'Mr Weasley,' the headmistress had addressed him as earlier.

"And that's it for the time being."

"The time being?" the brunette asked in surprise.

"There's more of us, but that's it for the moment," Albus explained with a grin and flopped down on the couch.

Sora sat down gingerly on the arm of one of the couches and observed the group of red heads in front of him. Lily and James had quickly gone back to arguing, loudly too, about a guy that Lily apparently liked and James was teasing her about it. Hugo had a grin but was focusing on him curiously, as was Rose, who had put her books aside.

"So how come-" Hugo began but was cut off by a shrill whistle that pierced the air, making silence settle like a heavy blanket in the common room.

Everyone turned to face Professor Vane, who was standing in the common room with a smile as she walked over to the group of red head's, and Sora. "Alright everyone, there's someone I want to introduce to you. This is Sora Hikari, he's starting tomorrow and is going to be in fourth year, due to some circumstances."

Sora blushed as everyone turned curious eyes to him. "N-Nice to meet you all," he said with a smile and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Make him feel welcome alright? If he gets lost help him out. He's essentially a first year. Treat him nicely."

There was a wave of nodding heads and Professor Vane smiled, apparently satisfied.

"Right, you can go back to what you were doing."

The chatter started up again and the Gryffindor Head turned to the group. "Hello everyone. I see you've already met Mr Hikari."

"Yeah," Albus replied with a grin in the brunette's direction. "We've met."

"Miss Weasley, can I talk to you for a minute please?" the woman asked with a kind smile.

The red head blinked in surprise and nodded standing up. "What about?"

"Come over here please. Mr Hikari, you too." The trio moved into a space in the corner, away from prying eyes, and Professor Vane waved her wand. "Miss Weasley, I want you to take on the duty of teaching Mr Hikari the basics of magic. All the first year curriculum from scratch. Also, help him out with homework and assessment if he needs it. I have faith that you can do it far better than some of the teachers here."

"Alright, I can do that," she replied curiously, preening slightly at the compliment. "Can I ask why?"

"You can. This is the first Wizard School that Mr Hikari has been to. He was an undiscovered muggle-born wizard. The ministry has only just become aware of this fact and decided to take action."

Her brown eyes widened and fixated on Sora curiously. "Why so late? Surely it would be better for him to be privately tutored then?"

"The ministry decided that Hogwarts would be a much better place for him to study. Can I trust you to teach Mr Hikari the basics up until now?"

"Certainly. I take on the role with honour," she answered determinedly and smiled at the brunette. "I look forward to working with you Sora."

"You too," the keyblader answered with a smile.

"Thank you Miss Weasley. If you need any materials or text books feel free to ask."

"Thank you, but I'll get mum to send all my books over from home, Professor Vane."

"Alright. Well, I'd better get going. Are you going to join us for dinner Mr Hikari?" the woman asked with a smile.

"I'll see how I feel later. It's been a long day and I'm pretty tired."

"I can imagine. Well, if I don't see you, sleep well and I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning. Miss Weasley, thank you."

"No, thank you Professor Vane," Rose replied happily.

The dark haired witch stood up and with one last nod and smile she left the Gryffindor common room.

"So you have no magic training whatsoever?" Rose asked the moment the older witch left the Gryffindor Tower.

"Well… I have a bit… none with a wand though."

"Then we'll start tomorrow. I'll borrow out a charms textbook from the library tomorrow and we'll get started then. Unless you want to start now?" She asked, eyes narrowing almost excitedly.

"Uh… no thanks, I'd better not." His first attempts with a wand hadn't left him thrilled at the thought of using one for classes.

"Alright," Rose sighed in disappointment. "We start tomorrow after dinner though, after homework."

Sora sighed and slumped a little. "I guess things don't really change, huh?"

The red headed Weasley laughed. "Nope, sorry. Anyway, we'd better head over. People are going to begin to wonder if we're away much longer."

"Yeah…"

Smiling, the duo headed back over to the curious group. Despite drilling Rose for answers, she didn't say a word, leaving Sora to explain what the Gryffindor Head wanted from them.

tbc~


	4. First Day

_Sora sighed and slumped a little. "I guess things don't really change, huh?" _

_The red headed Weasley laughed. "Nope, sorry. Anyway, we'd better head over. People are going to begin to wonder if we're away much longer." _

"_Yeah…" _

_Smiling, the duo headed back over to the curious group. Despite drilling Rose for answers, she didn't say a word, leaving Sora to explain what the Gryffindor Head wanted from them._

__Chapter 4 - First Day

"Sora… wake up."

The voice broke through Sora's dream, leaving him frowning in annoyance as he rolled further into his pillow. "Five mor' mins' mum…" he mumbled and attempted to get back to sleep.

"I'm not your mother Sora, and you're lucky it's me waking you up at the moment."

The voice clicked in his addled brain and the brunette scowled. "Go away Riku," he grumbled and pulled the covers over his head.

"I'm not Riku either," came the amused response. "Sora, you need to get up now, otherwise you're going to miss breakfast and your first classes. Not a good start to your first day at Hogwarts."

Hogwarts? What was this loon going on about? He'd never heard of Hogwarts.

"Sora, up, now, otherwise I'm going to give you a very sore arse."

"Go away," he moaned and buried his head under his pillow. "It's too early."

"It's 8:25 Sora. You need to get up, now."

The blankets were tugged at and the brunette held onto them valiantly. "Noooo…."

"Right… You have until the count of three before I shoot a stinging hex at you."

The blankets were released and Sora smiled with his victory, ignoring the comment about a stinging hex, whatever the hell that was. There was no such thing. "Meh…"

"One…"

"Is he up yet?" another voice asked, this one female.

"Not yet," the male replied. "Two…"

"Go away, all of you," Sora moaned miserably and curled up under his covers.

"Three."

Yelping, Sora's eyes flew open as his rear end suddenly felt like it had just been electrocuted and he twisted away from the source, suddenly wide awake as he landed on the ground with a thump, everything suddenly making sense as Albus's amused expression loomed into view. "Holy darkness, I'm late!" the brunette yelped and struggled to get free, somehow only making himself get even more tangled.

"He's awake," Albus called back to someone over his shoulder.

"The others are getting impatient so we're going to head down to breakfast. We'll see you there Albus."

"Sure."

"Albus, help me!" Sora whined as he attempted to tug the blanket restricting his breathing away from his neck.

Sighing, the raven-haired wizard waved his wand and extracted the keyblade wielder from the blankets, sending them floating back onto the brunette's bed. Another wave of his wand and the sheets and covers made themselves neatly, leaving Sora gaping on the floor.

"Wow… can you teach me how to do that?"

"Not now Sora. Hurry up! You're late as it is, which means I'm late," the Potter replied in amusement, watching his new dorm mate's blue eyes widen in realisation and he jumped up, pulling his uniform on over the top of his pyjamas. "Uh…"

"Darn it!" Sora suddenly swore once he was fully dressed and looked contemplative before shrugging and grabbing his bag. "Oh well. Let's go."

"You're not brushing your hair?"

"I never do. It looks worse that way otherwise. Come on. Bye Baubles!" Waving to his black cat, Sora took the stairs out of the dormitory by the railing, stopping at the bottom to wait for Albus who hurried after him.

The green-eyed Potter led him out of the Gryffindor tower and down to breakfast.

Sora was gifted with almost a hall full of curious eyes as soon as they entered, and he blinked in surprise at the number of Wizards and Witches sitting and eating in what Albus called the Great Hall.

"Come on," Albus said and grabbed the sleeve of his robes, pulling the brunette along. "Just ignore them. They're just trying to confirm the rumours."

"What rumours?" Sora asked curiously as he followed Albus down the corridor.

"About whether there's a new Wizard at Hogwarts."

"Oh…"

Albus suddenly slid into a seat beside Hugo and started piling his plate full off food. Sora sat down in the space beside him and did the same, shaking his head at the large amount of food on the silver trays. He supposed it made sense.

Munching on some bacon, eggs and toast, he blinked as an unfamiliar blond with green robes slid himself into the space opposite Albus and Sora, meeting stormy grey eyes as they flicked over him curiously.

"Morning Score," Albus greeted brightly, prompting a greeting from the rest of the Weasley and Potter clan.

"Morning," he replied quietly, eyes still fixed curiously on the brunette. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy," he introduced suddenly, sticking out a hand.

"Sora," he replied, taking the hand with a smile.

"Last name?"

"Hikari."

"Ah… odd… is it Japanese?" Scorpius asked suddenly, looking curious.

"Um… maybe? I don't know…" Sora replied, attempting to figure out what Japanese meant.

"Don't mind him. Score has a thing with names. If it's unusual he'll try and figure it out until he knows all about it," Albus said with a teasing grin, directed at the blond.

"Do not," came the scowl in reply.

Another body plonked themselves down further on the bench, this one in blue trimmed robes. "Hey Teddy," Lily greeted with a smile.

"Yo. Who's the new kid?" he asked with a grin, brunette hair spiky. What really got Sora though were the older wizard's eyes. They were purple.

"Teddy, this is Sora. Sora, this is Teddy," James introduced with a grin, taking in the new fourth year's expression of disbelief.

"Hi, nice to meet you. So you're the new kid in the rumours."

"Uh… I've seen people with orange eyes before, even yellow, but I've never seen someone with purple eyes," he remarked, stunned.

Teddy grinned and Sora yelped as the brunette's eyes changed to a bright cat coloured yellow right in front of his eyes.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Hey, shh," Albus hissed, turning an accusing glare on Teddy. "Teddy, don't scare him."

The brunette shrugged, his yes flicking back to a deep amethyst purple. "What?"

Sighing, Albus turned to Sora, who was still staring, wide eyes, smiling slightly. "Teddy is our father's god son, and he's Scorpius' dad's cousin. His parents died during the war and his grandmother raised him. Teddy inherited his mothers' metamorphmagus abilities. Essentially he can change his features at will to create another look, or to copy someone."

"My mum could change into a completely different person apparently. At the moment all I can change are my facial features, but I'm working on it," Teddy replied with a grin. "Anyway, I'd better shoot off. I've got potions next."

"Ugh… go," James grumbled and shoved the brunette away. "Ruddy Ravenclaw."

"Hey, at least I look good in blue," Teddy teased, grinning and dancing out of the way as the eldest Potter took a swipe at him.

"You'd better run while you still can," James replied with a grin.

"You haven't got me yet Jamie and I doubt you will anytime soon," the metamorphmagus teased as he took the advice anyway and left the great hall.

"Both of you hurry up and eat, we're going to be late otherwise," Rose grumbled as she put her book away.

"Right…" Sora murmured and quickly began shovelling food into his mouth while Scorpius and Albus kept up a steady conversation about an assignment they'd obviously been doing.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had Sora looking up and he blinked as he found Professor Vane looming over Scorpius looking unimpressed. "Mr Malfoy, this is the Gryffindor Table, not the Slytherin table. I suggest you either move back over to your own table to eat or you head to your first class for the day."

"Professor, we were just talking about our assignment," Albus retorted in annoyance.

Sora noted the scowl that crossed the blonde's face before fading.

"Regardless, Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy is a Slytherin and as such should be interacting with his own house. Be on your way Mr Malfoy please."

"This is such bullshit!" Albus snapped angrily, glaring furiously at the Arithmancy teacher. "You don't care about any other house! Just-"

"Albus, stop," Scorpius said firmly, grey eyes meeting burning green. "It's not worth it. Sorry Professor, I'll be on my way now. I'll see you two in class."

"Bye Scorpius," Rose murmured as the blond picked up his bag and left the great hall.

"Mr Potter, I did not appreciate that little outburst and I certainly do not want it to happen again, otherwise I will deduct house points."

Looking like he was about to argue, Albus suddenly met Rose's heavy gaze and he nodded. "Yes Professor," he murmured quietly.

"Good. Mr Hikari," she began, turning to Sora, who blinked in surprise and looked up at her. "Instead of attending classes straight off today, you will spend the first half of the day with Professor Flitwick, who will take you through the first years curriculum, and then after lunch you will join your classmates in their afternoon classes. This will happen for the next three days. Is this understood?"

"Yes Professor," he murmured with a nod.

"Are you finished? If so we can head to his office now."

"Sure," he replied, picking up his bag. "I'll see you guys later," he replied with a nod and followed the professor down the side of the table and out of the Great Hall. She immediately began heading towards the upper floors.

They eventually stopped outside a classroom and Romilda Vane stopped, turning back to face her newest Gryffindor. "Now, I'm not normally one for neat and respectful, but please make sure you're looking more respectful tomorrow Mr Hikari. You look abysmal at the moment."

"Sorry Professor. I was in a rush this morning and I'm not the best on lack of time," he mumbled, tugging at his jumper sleeve.

She sighed and flicked her wand, and Sora jumped as his clothes straightened themselves and his tie did itself up properly around his neck. "There, much bett… where are your shoes?"

Sora blinked and stared down at his feet, wriggling his toes, which were covered in dark blue bed socks with clouds on them. "Um… I forgot?" he asked with a wince, trying to make the response sound light.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Well, you're late already so make sure you get them before lunch, do you hear?"

"Yes Professor," he replied, ducking his head in relief. "Sorry Professor."

"It won't happen again, will it?" she asked firmly and he shook his head.

"No, it won't happen again."

"Good."

She knocked on the door and it opened of its own accord. "Fillius, I've brought Mr Hikari," she said as she walked in.

"Oh, excellent! Now come in Mr Hikari, come in, and let me get a good look at you!" a male voice said Sora entered the room, blinking at the white haired teacher that with looking at him with a wide grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you dear boy! Come in, come in. Thank you Romilda. He's in good hands."

"I have no doubts," she replied with a smile and gave Sora one last meaningful look before leaving the room.

"Come in, sit down, sit down," the elderly man said as he hobbled towards a table and grabbed a large number of books.

Sora winced at the pile of books but sat anyway.

"So, how much have you done so far?"

"Um… nothing?" Sora replied in confusion.

"That's alright dear boy, we'll start with the first years curriculum." Professor Flitwick gave the brunette a book and Sora read the cover. It was called _The Standard Book of Spells_. "Open it to the first chapter and I'll just summarise what the spell is supposed to do, and then we'll try it, yes?"

Sora nodded and turned to the requested page. "Wingardium Leviosa?" he asked curiously as he saw the picture of a feather under the title, blinking as the picture suddenly changed to a smiling witch that flicked a wand with a swish and levitated the feather. "Whoa, it moves!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, it does. Now, we'll start with this one. This spell levitates anything…"

Sora listened, completely engaged as they went through each spell one by one, and at the end of each summary, he got to try the spell.

This went on until lunchtime, and by that time they'd almost gotten through the entire book.

"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick said with an approving smile. "At this rate we'll have you caught up in no time. Now, I want you to attempt that last spell with Miss Weasley tonight and practice the others that we've done today. Remember them, because I'll be testing them on you tomorrow."

Sora groaned. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all," he answered cheerfully before he got down off the chair and hobbled back over to his desk. "Now off you go. Go and eat. You've got a big afternoon ahead of you and you've done exceedingly well today."

"Thanks Professor," he replied as he stood up, blinking as the cold stone suddenly registered with his feet. "Um, Professor Flitwick?"

"Yes Mr Hikari?"

"How do I get up to the Gryffindor Tower from here?"

"Ah… now you need to make your way out this door, turn left and walk to the end, turn left again and then take the first right. That will get you to the stairs. You then need to make your way up to the sixth floor and when you get off, walk down the corridor there, take a right and continue following it until you find another set of stairs. Walk up those and you'll be right in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. You remember the password, yes?"

"I think so…" Sora murmured, eyes narrowing in thought as he attempted to memories the directions as well as recall the password. "Something about fruit loops?"

"Possibly. Unfortunately I'm a Hufflepuff teacher, so I wouldn't know. Anyway, I'm off for lunch. Good luck."

The short charms teacher waddled out of the room, leaving Sora no choice but to collect the Charms book he'd been given and make his way to the Gryffindor Tower.

Finding his way up there, Sora grinned and did a little victory dance when he found the Fat Lady.

"Oh, it's you," she said in surprise. "How's your first day been?"

"Okay," he replied with a shrug, smiling back at her as she smiled at him.

"That's good. I'm glad. Did you want to go in?"

"Um… yeah… please."

"Password?"

"Um… Fruit loops?"

"Wrong."

"Um… Fruit cereal?"

"Wrong."

"Fruit…"

"_Toffee Pancakes_," a voice said from beside him and Sora jumped in surprise, turning to find an older Gryffindor student standing beside him.

"Correct," The Fat Lady shrilled with a smile and she swung outwards.

"Trouble remembering the password?" the older student asked with a grin as they both walked inside.

"Yeah… thanks."

"No problem."

"Toffee Pancakes," Sora murmured to himself a couple of times under his breath.

"So, you're the new kid," the other girl asked, looking him up and down a couple of times.

"Uh… yeah…"

"Changing books or…?"

"Getting shoes," he replied and wiggled his toes.

She stared wide-eyed at his feet before laughing. "You seriously forgot your shoes?"

"Yeah… I was in a rush this morning."

Chuckling, she shook her head and headed towards the dormitories. "Well, you'd better hurry up. You'll miss out on lunch otherwise."

Nodding, he quickly darted up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and, after a few seconds contemplation, changed out of his pyjama's as well. Redoing his tie, he grabbed his bag and pulled out the unimportant books for the afternoon lessons and dumped the rest on his bed, avoiding Baubles, who looked at him sleepily before stretching, yawning, and sleeping again.

"I wish I was you," he murmured and shook his head, patting his pet before darting down the stairs and out the Portrait door. Getting back to the grand staircase, he got to the ground floor and followed the crowds to the Great Hall for lunch.

Searching the Gryffindor table for the clan he was now familiar with, he found them a little further down than they were this morning and quickly headed over there. Slipping in beside Rose, he nodded a greeting to the Potters and Weasley's.

"So? How was it?" Rose asked expectantly.

"Surprisingly fun actually."

She nodded approvingly.

"Did you only just get out?" Albus asked curiously.

"No, I got out a while ago. I had to go back to the dorm though."

"How come?" Hugo asked.

"Oh… um…"

"Let me guess, you took your pyjama's off," Albus teased with a smile.

"And put shoes on," the brunette admitted with a small blush.

"Shoes… you forgot your shoes this morning?"

"Yeah… I didn't notice until Professor Vane pointed them out either."

That had them all laughing and Sora pouted before turning to his lunch. "Fine. Laugh. See if I care."

"Sorry Sora," Albus apologised, his laughs dying down.

"And I thought James was bad," Lily laughed and shook her head.

"Sora, come here," Rose said with a sigh and dragged him forward by the tie.

"What…?"

She focused and undid it, redoing the red and gold striped tie properly. "There."

"Oh… thanks…"

"You're welcome."

"What have you got next?" Albus asked curiously.

Pulling out the schedule he hadn't even looked at yet, he stared at it in confusion, trying to work out what each symbol and abbreviation meant. Before he could even begin deciphering it though it was plucked out of grasp. "Ah… hey!"

"Potions and then DADA," she reported and handed back the schedule. "Same as us."

"Oh, cool," Albus replied with a grin. "We'll see how good you are with a cauldron."

"Don't worry, you can be my partner for today," Rose said with a smile. "I'll explain things as we go."

Sora nodded and restudied his schedule. So, the symbol with the pot was for potions, and the cloud with what looked like lightening going through it was DADA, whatever that was.

"We'd better go. Professor Higgs will get his knickers all twisted up if we're late," Albus said with a sigh, his head turning to scan the great hall for someone. Obviously finding the person he was looking for, he jerked his head to the side and stood up, collecting his bag and books. Rose followed and Sora quickly stuffed another piece of chicken salad into his mouth before following. They met up outside the Great Hall and Scorpius joined them with a smile.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," Sora replied with a smile.

"Potions?" Scorpius asked and they all nodded.

"Down to the dungeons we go," Albus grumbled and Sora blinked. "Let's go."

"I thought you liked Potions?" the blond teased with a grin.

"I do," Albus replied with a frown. It's the dungeons I don't like. It would be so much better if we could learn to do potions above ground, not below."

"Well… yes… but then the sunlight would affect the potions more so they'd have a higher chance of going wrong. Besides, it's traditional."

"So?"

Sora stopped and turned as something silver flittered past his vision. Frowning, he scanned the crowds of people, and not seeing what it was that garnered his attention, he shrugged and quickly turned and followed his new friends down into the depths of the dungeons.

* * *

><p>Well, here it is guys. I hope you enjoyed it. :) Sorry it took me so long to get it up. It's been a weird couple of weeks. .<p>

Any questions, feel free to ask. :)

Vex


	5. Friends

_Sora stopped and turned as something silver flittered past his vision. Frowning, he scanned the crowds of people, and not seeing what it was that garnered his attention, he shrugged and quickly turned and followed his new friends down into the depths of the dungeons._

__Chapter 5 - Friends

Walking into the great hall later that evening in his Gryffindor robes and surrounded by Potter's and Weasley's, Sora found a seat on the left hand side of the Gryffindor table and sat down, smiling absently and looking around in awe. The Great Hall was amazing.

After a few minutes a high-pitched dinging sound permeated around the Great Hall and silence fell within a few seconds. Headmistress McGonagall was standing in front of the teacher's table looking around with a stern eye, her hands folded in front of her. "Welcome, students, to another meal. Now, I have a few announcements. First of all, it has been brought to my attention that Hufflepuff have been leaving their belongings laying around more than normal. Please remember to collect everything at the end of meal's and classes. Second, I know it's unprecedented, but we have two new students joining us officially tonight."

"Two?" Sora whispered to Albus curiously. The black haired wizard shrugged and turned back to the front.

"They have already been sorted into houses and some of you may have seen them in classes today. If you could stand when I call your name please? In Gryffindor fourth year we have Sora Hikari." A chorus of applause, grins and laughter echoed from the great hall as the brunette blushed and stood up, fiddling with his robes anxiously as his eyes roamed the room curiously, looking for the second person.

"And in fifth year Slytherin we have-"

"RIKU!" Sora screamed happily when he noticed his best friend stand up at the Slytherin table. Ignoring the shocked looks from the people around him, he leapt off the Gryffindor table and glided over the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table, aiming for Riku who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Sora, wait!" Riku yelled and yelped as he was tackled from mid-air and sent flying over the Slytherin table to crash on the ground, Sora wrapped around him tightly.

"Oh god, you have no idea how good it is to see you! I was so worried I'd be the only one here and what I would do if something happened and how I was going to get home and whether my parents were going to think I'd left again and what you and Kairi would think," the brunette babbled happily as he blinked back tears and looked up at the silver haired keyblader, who was groaning and glaring at him through lidded eyes.

"Sora, shut up," Riku groaned and sat up, rubbing his head with a wince.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live…"

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm dying from mortal internal injures Sora."

The colour drained from the brunette's face and Riku smirked before patting his friend on the head.

"I'm fine dummy. I might have lost a few brain cells but I at least still have more than you ever will."

"Hey!" The pout that crossed Sora's face had Riku laughing as he stood up and brushed himself off, holding out a hand for the other keyblade wielder.

"Still gullible. When will you learn?"

Grumbling, the brunette accepted the hand and the other teen pulled him upright with a fond smile.

Dusting himself off, Riku winced as he met the almost amused expression of the staff and the laughing expressions of the rest of the school. "Sorry…"

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion as he looked at his best friend. "What are you saying sorry for?"

"Mr Hikari, I'm going to have to ask you to re-join your house mates for the meal if you please," McGonagall asked, a small smile touching her lips.

"Aww, but…" He began, being cut off as Riku slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Just go Sora. We'll catch up later," he whispered and let go of the brunette, grabbing his hand and dragging him around the table to start him on the way back to his own house table. Letting go of the other keybladers hand, he walked back down the corridor and sat himself down at his own seat again.

Frowning, Sora hesitated but headed back to his own table for the meal.

McGonagall continued from where she was interrupted. "As you've all probably gathered, our fifth year Slytherin student is Riku Valley. Please make both of them feel welcome."

A round of applause swept the hall as murmurs and laughs started up. Sora blushed as the Potter and Weasley clan all grinned at him.

"Now, without further disruption, let the feast begin."

As she said the words the tables all filled with plates and food, and the hum of conversation started up as students began claiming food.

"So, how do you know Valley?" James asked curiously as he munched on a chicken wing.

"We lived in the same neighbourhood," Sora answered without much thought. "We've been best friends since we were really little."

"Really?" Rose asked, frowning. "That seems a little suspicious. Two new students at the same time that know eat other."

"Coincidences happen Rose," Albus defended with a frown. "Besides, I think it's good that there's someone here that Sora knows, aside from us of course." The black haired wizard grinned.

"Right," Sora added, agreeing completely as he piled bits and pieces onto his plate.

The meal continued this way, Sora chatting with most of the people around him happily. Riku meanwhile met Scorpius Malfoy, who moved down to sit next to him.

After the meal finished, the students headed back to their common rooms, and instead of following the rest of Slytherin to the dungeons, Scorpius led Riku up to the Gryffindor Tower. Slipping through the portrait with a group of older Gryffindor's, Riku was greeted by a big squeal and a glomp from Sora, Scorpius a hug from Albus. The blond Malfoy scowled but allowed the hug.

"So, you're Riku?" James asked as he crossed his arms.

The silver haired teen looked over at the red headed senior standing over by the fire and nodded, face blank. "And you are…?"

"James Potter," he introduced with a grin.

Sora dragged the silver haired keyblader over to the fire and pushed him down into a seat where he promptly plonked himself down beside his best friend. "James, stop being intimidating. Riku's fine," the brunette said with a grin.

"But he's Slytherin," the eldest potter protested with a frown.

"Yeah, so is Score," Albus argued with a frown as he dragged his blond friend over to the lounge.

"Well, before we accept him we should probably give him _the test,_ huh guys?" Hugo said with a smirk.

Riku blinked, entirely unworried. "If that was supposed to sound intimidating you've got another thing coming, because it was just pathetic," Riku replied with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

Hugo pouted while Lily snickered. "Nice," she hummed and sat down as well.

"So how do you and Sora know each other?" Rose asked curiously.

Both Keyblade wielders exchanged looks. "We're childhood friends," Riku answered slowly, getting an approving nod from Sora.

"What do you think of Slytherin?" James asked, crossing his arms as he perched on the arm of a chair.

"I don't know. The only one I've met so far is Scorpius," the silver haired teen answered. "I'll let you know though."

The elder red head nodded thoughtfully.

"Guys or girls?" Hugo asked with a grin.

Riku and Sora both blinked. "What?"

"Guys or girls?" the younger Weasley repeated.

"Um… I have no objection to either," Riku answered, avoiding Sora's gaze as a light blush dusted across his cheeks.

"What about same sex relationships?" Lily asked with a grin.

"If you're asking whether I'm homophobic, I'm not."

"Oh good."

"Toffee or apple sauce?"

"Apple sauce?" Riku answered, sounding unsure.

"Keen Beans or Bubble Buggers?"

"What the hell are those?"

"Games."

"Neither. I've never heard of them."

The bizarre questions kept coming, Riku and Sora both getting more and more puzzled. By the time the questioning stopped it was nearly ten pm.

"We'd better get to bed."

"Shit, be careful. Curfew was at nine," Hugo murmured and stood up. "Good luck getting back."

"Can we borrow the map? I'll give it back to you tomorrow." Scorpius asked, standing as well.

"Sure," Albus agreed and darted up the stairs to the dormitories. He came back downstairs with a folded up piece of parchment in his hands. "Here."

"Thanks," Scorpius replied and hugged the raven-haired wizard. "Come on Riku. We'd best get going."

"Bye," Sora murmured and hugged the silver haired teen, who hugged him back as well. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Sora. Goodnight everyone."

"Night guys!" Lily said and waited until they left the common room before yawning. "Right, I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning boys. Coming Rose?"

The two girls left and Albus dragged Sora up to their dormitory, where a couple of boys were already sound asleep in their beds. "See you in the morning," Albus whispered and climbed into bed, drawing the curtains after him.

Sora changed and crawled into bed with a yawn.

* * *

><p>Albus, Scorpius and Riku all stared in contemplation at Sora the next morning, Albus nodding his head slowly, Scorpius with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Riku was just shaking his head.<p>

"So, tell me again how he manages this?" Albus asked, looking at Riku.

"I'm not entirely sure to be truthful," Riku replied, moving a hand to settle on his hip. "It's Sora. We just accept him for his weirdness."

"What I'm curious about is how he managed to do that, in his sleep," Scorpius murmured and shook his head in disbelief.

"Again, it's Sora. We don't ask."

They all turned back to look at Sora, who had somehow, in his sleep, managed to wind himself so far up into his curtains that he had one foot hooked over the links at the top, the other foot wrapped in red cloth about halfway down. The other curtain was wrapped around his middle and neck, leaving the brunette's head free and up, and one arm yanked up and dangling loosely from another loop in the curtain, the other arm was non-existent. There was drool running down his chin and he was suspended at least twenty centimetres from the bed, and snoring softly.

"So, how do we wake him up without him breaking any bones?" Albus asked curiously.

Without answering Riku stepped forward and poked Sora in the nose. It wrinkled and snuffled a little, and Riku poked it again. Sora grumbled and wriggled his nose. Again, it was poked, and this time Sora whined and flicked his eyes open blearily to glare at the silver haired teen in front of him. "Nya…"

"Sora, it's time to get up," Riku said in amusement, eyebrows raised.

"Riku?"

"Sora, it's time to get up," Riku repeated again, more slowly this time.

"Five more min's," he mumbled and tried to curl up into himself, eyes flying open as the curtains suddenly ripped and he fell, bouncing off the bed and onto the floor with a yelp.

Albus and Scorpius both winced at the loud thump that sounded.

"I'M AWAKE! I'M AWAKE!" Sora yelled and sat bolt upright, eyes wide as he focused on Riku.

"I can see that," the older teen replied in amusement. "Now hurry up and get dressed. You're going to be late for breakfast otherwise."

"Oh no!" Quickly scrambling out of the curtains, Sora hurried around pulling off his pyjamas, pulling on his school uniform and running around making the bed, grabbing his books and bag and putting his shoes on all at the same time.

"Sora, your shirt is buttoned up wrong," Riku pointed out, mildly amused. He still found Sora's mad dashes in the morning hilarious.

"Ack! Thanks Riku!" Quickly fixing the buttons, he hopped around pulling socks on and slipping his feet into shoes at the same time, somehow. Pulling his jumper and robes over his head, he stopped in front of Riku, who slipped his tie over his head.

"Thanks Riku. Let's go!" Grabbing the other keybladers hand, he quickly led the way out of the Gryffindor Common room and down to breakfast, Albus and Scorpius following them after looking at each other, trying not to laugh.

"I take it this is a normal thing?" Scorpius asked in amusement as they entered and separated into their houses.

"Oh yes," Riku replied as he rolled his eyes. "For as long as I can remember."

The Malfoy heir tried not to laugh as they approached their house table and schooled his features into something unreadable. If not for the twitching of his lips, Riku would have thought there was nothing wrong.

* * *

><p>Sora left Professor Flitwick's classroom about lunchtime that day, another book in his hands to learn before tomorrow. He'd done surprisingly well on his test this morning with the first year charms, and so they'd moved onto the second years.<p>

He'd had a good day so far. He hadn't been late for breakfast, he hadn't been late for class, he'd only gotten lost four times on the way to the Charms classroom, and he'd remembered his shoes!

Making his way down to the Great Hall, with only two wrong turns, he skipped down the benches and took his seat beside Rose when he spotted the Weasley-Potter crew. "Hey guys!"

"Hi Sora. How did your lessons go?" Rose asked with a smile.

"Fine. I'm doing second years charms," he said as he ladled some soup into a bowl.

"Oh, that's great!"

"Yeah. Some of those charms are weird though."

"Really?" Albus asked in surprise. "I thought they were all pretty normal."

"Yeah, but I wasn't brought up with magic," Sora pointed out as he began eating his soup.

"That's true, I suppose," the middle Potter mumbled before shrugging.

"Are you ready for your first transfiguration lesson after lunch?" Rose asked with a smile.

Sora grinned. "You bet. I like this magic stuff. It's fun."

Rose laughed. "It is, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Ugh, I'm so tired," Sora groaned as he lay back on the red couch in the Gryffindor Tower that night after dinner, Baubles curled up against his thigh and purring loudly as she slept, Sora's hand patting her absently. "Why does school run for so long?"<p>

"You'll get used to it," Rose replied with a smile, barely glancing up from her homework. "Just give it time."

"My school never ran for this long."

"Stop complaining," James grumbled, hardly looking up from his textbook. "Some of us actually have homework to do and you're distracting."

Pouting, Sora stared up at the high ceiling and watched the orange light from the fire flicker around the room. Baubles yawned and stretched out against his side before curling back up again, this time up near his hip. He continued absently patting his pet.

Eventually his eyes closed, and before long he was snoring softly on the couch.

Tbc~

* * *

><p>Well, here's chapter 5 guys. I hope you enjoyed it. ^_^ Let me know what you think of SC so far. :)<p> 


	6. Haunted

Sora couldn't help it. He just stared, and stared, and stared, at the group of shrieking sixth year Ravenclaw girls that were flailing on the stairs as they tried to shake their books out and save some of the sodden piles in their arms, even as they themselves were soaked through to the bone. How had it happened? A pile of water bombs had appeared out of nowhere from above, and had dropped directly onto them, right in front of the keyblade wielder's gaze.

"Is this normal?" he asked Rose, who was standing beside him looking just as stunned.

"Increasingly recently… or water attacks are anyway," she replied, the shock morphing into a frown. "They've only just recently started in the last couple of months or so, and the teachers have had no luck in finding out who's doing the pranks."

"How awful," Sora murmured, shaking off his shock.

"Yes, those poor books," she murmured before shrugging and continuing on up the stairs. "Come on."

"The books?" Sora asked in confusion. "What have the books got to do with anything?" he quickly followed her. "Aren't you worried about the people involved?"

"Why? They're almost adults; they're more than capable of taking care of themselves." She rounded a corner, leaving Sora to stand, absolutely stunned, before shaking his head and hurrying after her again. Rose tended to surprise him half the time. He obviously still didn't have her personality completely down yet.

* * *

><p>"G-g-g-gh-gh-GHOST!" Sora screeched the next day as he wandered the halls between classes, jumping behind Albus in fright as the ghost of an elderly gentleman floated towards them, looking amused.<p>

"My, my, I haven't had a reaction like that from someone in a few years."

"Hello Sir Nicholas," Albus greeted calmly, glancing over his shoulder at the quaking Sora in amusement. "Sora, come out. Sir Nicholas isn't scary."

"Quite the opposite I think," the old man chuckled, peering around the middle Potter to get a better look at the brunette. "So you're the one everyone's talking about? The new student?"

"This is him," Albus confirmed with a smile, "and his friend Riku who's in fifth year Slytherin as well."

"Two? That's never happened before," the ghost mused, stroking the goatee he sported. "One is very unusual, but two is unheard of."

Sora poked his eyes over the top of Albus' shoulders to get a better look at the ghost.

Nicholas noticed the blue eyes scrutinizing him and laughed good-naturedly. "Come on out. You're a bit jumpy, aren't you?"

"Just a little," Albus replied dryly, stepping out from in front of Sora. "Sora, meet Sir Nicholas, also known as Nearly Headless Nick."

"Nearly headless?" Sora asked in confusion, his gaze scrutinizing the seemingly fully headed ghost. "How can you be nearly headless?"

"Like this," the ghost answered in amusement and leaned forward, pulling his head to the side so that the inside of his neck was visible.

Albus turned green while Sora screeched in fright as his hands flew to his mouth in horror. "Lord of Darkness, your head!"

The knight laughed as he settled his head back on his shoulders, giving Sora an amused look.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"No, of course not. I'm dead."

"But… but that doesn't mean it won't hurt," Sora protested with a pout.

"Ever so true, but in this case it doesn't," Sir Nicholas answered with a smile. "Ah, there she is, the person I was looking for. Excuse me Sora and Albus, it was a pleasure seeing you both. Have a pleasant day." With that, he was gliding down the corridor again, nodding a greeting to the other students and staff in the hallway.

Sora watched him go with wide eyes.

Albus laughed and grabbed his new friend's arm. "Come on, let's get to class before we get in trouble."

Nodding, Sora quickly followed as he was tugged forward.

* * *

><p>"Riku! Guess what, I saw a ghost!" Sora announced that night at dinner as he raced over to the Slytherin table to tell his friend who he met today.<p>

A snort of amusement from the other Slytherin's had Riku raising an eye as Sora pouted slightly. "Yes, Sora, there are ghosts in Halloween Town and the Underworld as well. It's not like it's your first time seeing a ghost."

"But Zero was a dog," the brunette protested with a pout. "This was a real ghost, a person ghost, and he – he grabbed his head like this and pulled, and his head came off his shoulders, sort of," Sora imitated Sir Nicholas and pulled his head to the side like the ghost had done, wincing as his neck cracked. "Ow…"

Riku shook his head slowly in disbelief. "And you're telling me this at dinner why?"

"Because it was interesting, and I thought you'd be excited?" Sora replied with a small shrug, his tone a little unsure.

"Sora, you're friends with a talking skeleton that wears a suit. Why would meeting another ghost excite you?" the other teen asked, obviously trying to make sense of his friend's thought process.

"This ghost talked to me! He's the first one to actually talk to me. The ones in the Underworld just ignored you, or floated. They were boring."

The Slytherin's listening to the conversation were now looking at them like they were insane.

Riku just planted his face in his hand, shaking his head and he dragged it down his cheek and looked back up at his practically bouncing friend in amusement. "I don't think I've seen you this excited since you went to Christmas Town."

The blue eyes lit up spectacularly as those particular memories came back to him, and he laughed. "Yeah, see I told you Santa Clause existed!"

"Yes, you proved me wrong on that one," Riku admitted in amusement.

"What?" A Slytherin boy asked in disbelief. "Santa Clause doesn't exist! He's a figment of a child's imagination."

"He is not!" Sora retorted loudly, his fists clenching defensively. "I've met him. He's real!"

The boy snorted and raised an eyebrow. "What? In a mall?"

"No! I met him in Christmas Town, and I helped him against… oh what were their names again? Fox, Lox and Barrel? Something like that?" he looked at Riku for confirmation.

The silver haired teen shrugged. "Don't look at me. You're the one that met them, not me."

"You're strange," the wizard decided, looking at Sora like he was insane.

Riku, for some reason, started laughing loudly, unable to stop. The boy threw him a dirty look, while Sora just looked confused. "Oh, you have no idea how true that statement is," he snickered eventually.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry Sora," Riku replied with a grin as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Go and eat. I'll see you after dinner."

"Okay!" Hugging his friend on impulse, he quickly let go and headed for the Gryffindor table. "Cya Riku!"

"You're friends with a Gryffindor?" a Slytherin girl asked in disgust, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Hey, he's not so bad," Riku defended, glancing over his shoulder to smile fondly at Sora, who was seating himself with the Weasley and Potter clan, already talking amicably as he gestured wildly. "He takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do he's the best friend you'll ever have." He smiled wistfully, looking back at his plate, a small, nostalgic smile on his face. Shaking his head, he continued to eat.

* * *

><p>Walking into charms the next day, Sora paused at the doorway as he heard the sound of running water in the corridor behind him. Turning back, he surveyed the area with a perplexed look. Nope. No water. How odd. Then again, this entire place was odd.<p>

Turning back to the classroom, he froze as the unmistakable sound of screaming began rapidly approaching. As the screams peaked, a wind flew past, ruffling his hair, and Sora whirled around with wide eyes only to watch a black cloaked figure sliding past on a wave of water and a plank of wood, his arms rotating madly to try and keep himself balanced as he screamed loudly, and crashed unceremoniously into the wall. Sora's jaw dropped as a dark portal opened a few seconds later, a hand reached out, waved and evaporated the water, grabbed the cloaked man on the way back in and shut without a trace that they were ever there.

Laughing nervously, Sora turned back to the doorway and screamed as he found Rose Weasley staring at him in concern, less than half a meter from his face.

"Are you okay?" She asked in concern when he finally stopped freaking out.

"Fine, fine," he answered shakily and gathered a tighter grip on his books. "I think I'm just going crazy, that's all."

"Oh…"

"Yeah..." Giving her a shaky smile, he quickly darted inside into the classroom and took his seat.

"Come in, come in Miss Weasley. Let's begin, shall we? Alright, let's all take out our wands, and we're going to learn the Cheering Charm today. Mr Hypernious, could you please explain to us what this charm is and what it does?"

Sora sighed and stared up at the ceiling. He could have sworn he just saw one of the members of the Organization, or maybe two, if that arm flying out of the wall was any indication, and considering the water, it must have been Demyx, unless there was another Organization member he didn't know about that used water magic. He prayed that wasn't the case though. He didn't really want to take on the whole Organization again.

Breathing in deeply, Sora froze, his eyes wide as a head popped through a black hole that had appeared in the ceiling, and the nobody, known to Sora as Xigbar, or The Freeshooter, was gazing around the classroom curiously. The searching eyes landed on him, grinned, winked and the head disappeared into the ceiling again.

Sora could do nothing but stare, his eyes wide and his breathing rapidly bordering on hyperventilation. "Sora, are you okay?" Albus asked quietly as his friend froze.

"Did you see that?" Sora asked breathlessly and desperately looking at his friend.

"See what?" the black haired Potter asked in confusion.

"The… The head in the ceiling!"

"What head?"

"Did…Did you not see that?"

"See what Mr Hikari? Mr Potter?" Professor Flitwick asked curiously as he caught the no longer quiet conversation between his two students.

"Did no one else see that?" Sora asked quietly as he gazed around, his eyes wide.

They all gave him confused looks.

Swallowing hard, Sora stood up and stumbled out of his seat.

"Hey, are you okay?" Albus asked in concern. "Sora!"

The brunette didn't answer as he stumbled out of the room in a daze, immediately heading for the first person he could think of to talk to that wouldn't think he was insane.

Stumbling down to the dungeons in a daze, he pushed open the door, immediately halting the potions lesson Professor Higgs was teaching. "Can I help you Mr Hikari?" the Slytherin head asked curiously.

Ignoring the teacher in his daze, Sora stumbled towards Riku, who stood up in concern. "Riku… I think I'm going insane," he began, his voice sounding like he was on drugs, or day dreaming. "I keep seeing ghosts…"

Blinking in confusion Riku looked at his friend in worry and confusion. "Yes Sora, ghosts exist here. You're not going insane."

"No, no, no, no, no," the brunette protested drunkenly as he reached out and grabbed the front of the silver haired teenager's robes, shaking them a little. "I keep seeing ghosts, Riku. Ghosts-ghosts, not ghosts."

"I'm not following you," Riku replied in confusion, reaching up to grab Sora's wrists and detangle them from his robes. "Ghosts exist Sora. Here anyway. You've seen them. We went through this yesterday, remember?"

"No, no, no, I know about those ghosts. These are different ghosts," Sora said, his tone of voice bordering on calm hysteria.

"I'm still not following you," Riku muttered in confusion.

Taking a deep breath, Sora began again. "I'm seeing ghosts Riku. Ghosts that other people can't see."

Frowning in confusion and worry, Riku didn't answer that one but retained his firm grip on Sora's wrists as he turned to face his Potions teacher. "Professor, do you mind if I take Sora up to see Madame Pomphrey in the Hospital Wing? I don't think he'll be able to make it there by himself in this state."

Professor Higgs was standing there frowning thoughtfully at the two of them, namely Sora. He nodded. "Yes, grab your things and take him up Riku. He might have been confunded. She'll probably check for that first but ask her to anyway."

Nodding, the silver haired keyblader released Sora's wrists and quickly walked back to his desk, which was quickly being cleaned up by his partner for him. "Thanks."

Sora quickly followed and placed his hands on the desk. "Riku, you don't understand," he began firmly, obviously a little more lucid and stared his friend in the eyes. "I'm seeing ghosts. Organization ghosts."

That stopped Riku in his tracks. Freezing, he looked at his overly serious friend with thoughtful eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious!" Sora nodded determinedly. "Demyx, at least I think it was Demyx, came flailing down the corridor on a wave of water, screaming, and smashed into the wall. Another hand came out of the wall, waved, making the water evaporate within a second and pulled Demyx into the wall without a trace. There was no water left anywhere. Rose was just in front of me. She didn't see a thing! THEN about five minutes later during Charms, Xigbar's HEAD popped out of the ceiling and GRINNED at me! I'm going insane!"

Riku's stunned gaze shifted from Sora to the wall thoughtfully. "DiZ never mentioned anything about the Organization's souls turning into ghosts…"

"Yeah, he also didn't bet on them winding up here either," Sora shot back irritably.

"You're right… he didn't. Agh! Why did the old fool have to go and die!" the elder islander suddenly yelled and scrubbed at his head irritably, messing up his hair.

The brunette scowled. "You know that reason as well as I do, if not better. What has this got to do with my going insane anyway?"

Riku frowned and shifted his gaze to the other side of the room, where James Potter was sitting, looking at them in confusion. "James, do you know where your brother keeps the map?"

"Map?" the brown-eyed boy asked in confusion before widening in recognition. "Oh, that map. Yeah, he um, keeps it under his mattress. Why?"

"No reason. Thanks Professor Higgs. Come on Sora." Picking up his books and grabbing Sora's hand, he dragged the confused brunette out of the room and began a direct beeline for the Gryffindor Common room. "Wha…? Hey, wait! I thought we were going to the hospital wing. Riku! Wait!"

"I want to check something out first."

Grumbling, Sora muttered the password when they reached the fat lady, who eyed Riku distastefully but let him in anyway.

The two slipped through the empty common room to the male dorms upstairs and Riku immediately went searching for the map that was supposedly under Albus' mattress. He pulled it out and tapped the piece of parchment with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Like reliable magic, the map revealed itself and Riku sat down on Sora's bed with the map spread out between them. "Here, start looking for any names that shouldn't belong there."

"Like the Organizations?" Sora asked in surprise as he grinned at his best friend.

"Exactly," Riku replied with a smile and immediately went back to searching the map. Sora quickly copied him.

Half an hour later the bell went and Sora felt his heavy heart drop like a stone. There were no organization members registering on the map. "That's it then. I am going insane," he mumbled and Riku looked at his friend in concern, quickly mumbling the words to hide the map again.

"Sora, there could be other possibilities. There is no way that this map will show absolutely everything that happens in the castle, or every secret passageway or chamber."

"You really think so?" The brunette asked hopefully as he smiled up at his friend.

Riku nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Either way, just to be on the safe side, let's take you up to see Madame Pomphrey so she can check you over."

Sighing heavily, Sora nodded miserably. "Okay…"

The two of them rose, Riku putting the map back underneath Albus' mattress where he'd found it, and the keyblade wielders walked out into the common room, meeting Rose and Albus on their way in. "Sora, are you alright?" the female Weasley asked immediately.

"I don't know…" Sora murmured and swallowed miserably.

"Well, let us know if there's anything we can do. We bought your books up for you."

"Oh… thanks…" he murmured with a forced smile.

"Come on Sora," Riku murmured gently and gripped the brunette's hand, pulling him from the room gently. The two of them headed up to the Hospital Wing on the sixth floor and entered it.

A few seconds later Madame Pomphrey stepped out from around a corner with a look of surprise. "Can I help you?" she asked kindly as she walked forward.

"Go on Sora, tell her," Riku murmured and pushed his friend forward a little.

With a little encouragement Sora spilled everything and the mediwitch looked at him with concern before casting a number of spells on the brunette. Shaking her head in confusion, she ushered him over to a bed, Riku trailing behind.

"Professor Higgs asked me to ask you whether you'd checked to see if he'd been confunded." The glare she sent the teenager had Riku reeling back in surprise. "Not that I think you wouldn't have done it already! He just told me to mention it."

Madame Pomphrey pursed her lips together. "I did check. There's nothing."

"So I really am going insane?" Sora asked bitterly.

"We don't know that for certain," Riku soothed, exchanging a worried look with the mediwitch.

"Do you know what it could be? Where these people could have originated from?"

Sora and Riku exchanged a look before nodding. Sora began explaining about the organization and his role for the past two years in in the saving of the worlds, and his defeating the organization.

By the end of it she was looking a little less uncertain and more relieved. "Well, I think I can answer your question. I believe you have Acute Stress Disorder."

"Acute what?" Riku asked in confusion.

"Acute Stress Disorder," she repeated and waved her wand, calling a book over from a shelf wordlessly. "Acute stress reaction, also called acute stress disorder, psychological shock, mental shock, or simply, shock, is a psychological condition arising in response to a terrifying or traumatic event. It should not be confused with the unrelated circulatory condition of shock.

"Acute Stress Reaction: The symptoms show great variation but typically include an initial state of "daze", with some constriction of the field of consciousness and narrowing of attention, inability to comprehend stimuli, and disorientation. This state may be quickly followed by either further withdrawal from the surrounding situation (to the extent of a dissociative stupor), or by agitation and overactivity, anxiety, impaired judgement, confusion, detachment, and depression. Autonomic signs of panic anxiety (tachycardia, sweating, flushing) are also commonly present. The symptoms usually appear within minutes of the impact of the stressful stimulus or event, and disappear within 2–3 days, often within hours. Partial or complete amnesia for the episode may be present."

"But, hang on, that doesn't make sense," Sora rationalised. "If that's what I'm suffering from at the moment that has to have happened recently. We completed our mission months ago."

"Aside from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which doesn't entirely add up, this is the best fit for what I've seen Mr Hikari."

"And considering you've only just started seeing them, maybe this is the best fit for what you've seen," Riku pointed out with a frown. "But why now? We've only been here for almost a week so far. It's been months since they were defeated. Surely someone would have seen them before now?"

"If they have been spotted no one has reported them," Madame Pomphrey replied lightly and fixed Sora with a studious gaze. "Mr Hikari, I'd like to keep you here overnight if you don't mind."

"Um… not at all."

"Good. Go and have some lunch and I'll meet you back here after that. Pack some pyjama's please."

"Okay."

She smiled sympathetically and patted the brunette's knee before standing up and waving her wand, the book she was holding returning itself to its rightful place. "Have a good day Mr Valley."

"Thank you Madame Pomphrey."

Sora and Riku exchanged a look as she walked off. "Well, at least we know you're not going insane," Riku joked lightly and held out a hand for Sora to grip.

Smiling grimly, the brunette took his friends hand and stood up. "Not just yet anyway."

Sighing, Riku turned and followed the other keyblade wielder down to the great hall for lunch. This was going to be troublesome and worrying.

As they entered the Great Hall, Riku claimed a seat next to Sora at the Gryffindor table. He ignored the unimpressed look from Professor Vane and began eating, chatting happily with James and Lily.

Albus, Rose, Hugo and Scorpius joined them a short time later, and they all chatted and laughed, avoiding the question brewing in the centre.

Riku blinked when James, Rose, Albus and Scorpius all froze suddenly, jaws dropping wide open, food falling from Rose's mouth as she gaped wordlessly at something just behind the two keybladers.

Blinking, Riku, Sora, Hugo and Lily all turned around, Riku's jaw dropping in shock as he saw the familiar red head standing behind them, giving them a cheery grin and a two fingered salute as a greeting.

"Yo! Listen, Riku, you don't mind if I steal the runt here for a while, do you?" Axel asked as he quickly reached forward and plucked Sora out of his seat and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Wha-? Hey! Axel! Put me down!" Sora yelled as he attempted to kick and punch his way free.

"Stop squirming," the fire wielder ordered as he quickly called a corridor of darkness. "Don't worry, we'll return him." The green eyes winked as they both disappeared into the darkness.

Riku leapt into action. "Axel, put him down!" he yelled as he leapt at the corridor, hitting it too late as it dissipated and the silver haired keyblader hit the floor and skidded a bit. "DAMN IT!" Punching the floor, he pushed himself upright and glared around the room, which was now silent. "AXEL, GET YOUR SKINNY ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW BEFORE I FLAMBÈ IT FOR YOU!"

There was silence, and Riku's attention was caught as a note flickered out of a small dark spot before floating to the ground. Picking up the piece of paper, Riku snarled as he read the note. "_ZEXION!_"

TBC

* * *

><p>*cackles evilly* Cliffhanger! D Review and i'll post the next chapter sooner.<p> 


	7. I'm Not Insane!

_Riku leapt into action. "Axel, put him down!" he yelled as he leapt at the corridor, hitting it too late as it dissipated and the silver haired keyblader hit the floor and skidded a bit. "DAMN IT!" Punching the floor, he pushed himself upright and glared around the room, which was now silent. "AXEL, GET YOUR SKINNY ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW BEFORE I FLAMBÈ IT FOR YOU!" _

_There was silence, and Riku's attention was caught as a note flickered out of a small dark spot before floating to the ground. Picking up the piece of paper, Riku snarled as he read the note. _"ZEXION!"

Chapter 7 - I'm Not Insane!

Sora held back a yelp as he was tossed to the floor and pushed himself upright, rubbing his hands as he turned to glare at the Fire user, freezing as he came face to face with a lot more than just one Nobody. Quickly counting them, he paled as realised there were eleven of them. "Uh…"

"First things first, Sora, no one here intends you any harm," a slate haired nobody said as he stepped forward, hair falling over half his face in a curtain as he knelt in front of the brunette.

"Who are you?" Sora asked curiously as his eyes darted around the dark room for any sign of escape. "I don't remember seeing you before, although you look familiar."

"My name is Zexion. You wouldn't remember me, because we never met, and even if we did, it was at Castle Oblivion."

"The place I have no memories from…" Sora finished, putting all the puzzle pieces together. "So, wait, I'm not going insane? You're all real?"

"We are," Zexion confirmed, standing upright and holding out a hand for the Keyblader.

"Sorry for the scare earlier Kiddo. Dem here swore he saw you and we had to be sure," Xigbar said with a grin as he leant against a wall.

Sora sighed heavily, taking the offered hand. "And you couldn't think of another way to do it? I seriously thought I was going insane for about an hour."

"Meh, you've been insane for year's kid," a blond woman commented dismissively as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, cocking her hip to the side as she eyed him contemplatively.

Needless to say, Sora felt very self-conscious and he stood fully upright, taking in all the identities of the nobodies around him. "What are you all doing here?"

"We woke up here one day," Zexion explained. "Xemnas is the only one that hasn't arrived."

"And hopefully he won't," Axel grumbled, crossing his arms as he leant against the wall, his vibrant red hair standing out wonderfully against the dark brick.

Saix snarled at him angrily.

Axel just rolled his eyes. "Down boy."

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm not a pet," Saix growled, glaring angrily at the pyromaniac.

There came a snicker from Xigbar, but after a fierce glare towards the Freeshooter, the others wisely remained silent.

"Anyway, we need your help," Zexion continued.

"So, you're not going after Kingdom Hearts again?" Sora asked curiously, looking perplexed.

"No, we've decided against it," Vexen grumbled.

"It didn't work out so well for us last time," Xigbar added with a shrug. "All it did was cause pain. We're all together again, so I don't see why we should risk it again."

Vexen didn't look at anyone and just stared at the floor.

"Sora, we need your help," Zexion repeated quietly, catching the brunette's attention again. "We need you to help us explain to this world that we don't mean any harm. We've been hiding in this castle for far too long, and any attempt we've made at finding our way around without being spotted has been thwarted."

"Alright," Sora agreed, nodding. "Why are we all here?"

"No one knows," Xaldin replied with a shrug. "We've speculated, but that's all we can do."

"It would be bad to come to an unfounded conclusion," Vexen agreed with a nod.

"Oh shut your trap you old fart," Marluxia growled, glaring at the blond scientist.

"No one asked you, flower breath," Vexen shot back with a glare of his own.

Sora grinned. "You two really don't get along, do you?"

"We have our reasons," Marluxia replied coldly, raising an eyebrow at the brunette.

"Look, can we send Sora back so we can go eat? I'm hungry," Demyx whined.

"Yeah, let's send the squirt back," Axel agreed. "I'm sick of hiding. It's done nothing back waste time and effort."

"Says the two timing spy and traitor," Larxene grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Can you do anything but bitch?" Axel bit back in annoyance.

"Of course I can," Larxene replied sweetly, "as to whether I want to do it or not around you is a whole other matter."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," Xigbar grumbled, drawing a quiet snicker from the others. "Can we let Sora go now? If we stay together any longer we're going to kill each other probably."

"Alright," Zexion nodded and turned back to the blue-eyed keyblade wielder.

"How will I contact you if I need to?" Sora asked curiously.

"We'll be around," Zexion replied with a small smile. "Just call."

Stretching out a hand, the slate haired nobody sent Sora back through a dark portal. Sora closed his eyes and fell.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sora! You okay?" a voice asked, calling him back from darkness.<p>

Sora opened his eyes to stare up at Riku. "Riku?"

"Yeah, it's me." The other teen gave a relieved smile. "Are you okay? You don't seem to be hurt."

"I'm fine. They just wanted to talk."

"Oh, okay. Wait, they?" Riku asked, suddenly looking alert.

Sora nodded and sat up. "Yeah, the organization is back."

"What?"

"They're not going after Kingdom Hearts again, and Xemnas isn't around either."

"You're sure they're all back?" Riku asked urgently, grabbing his best friends arms as he stared into the clear blue yes.

"They are," Sora confirmed with a nod.

Riku let out a breath of frustration. "Great… just what we need."

"I don't think they're our enemies this time Riku. I think they honestly just want to help."

"With what? What do they know that we don't?"

"They don't know either, but I think they've changed sides."

"Sora, that is impossible. They're nobodies."

"So? Everyone can have a change of heart."

"They're nobodies. They don't have hearts."

"Well… the theory still applies!" Sora snapped in frustration.

"Sora…"

"You changed, didn't you?"

"Yes, but… that was different," Riku growled, rubbing at his hair in frustration.

"Naminè changed sides."

Riku sighed, obviously feeling defeated by that one. "I guess…"

"It is possible Riku." He placed a hand on his friends and stared him straight in the eyes. "Just give them a chance."

"Fine," Riku murmured. "Just one. The moment they screw up I'm key blading their ass though," he threatened.

"That's all they need," Sora replied quietly as he smiled and squeezed his friend's hand. He looked around the room for the first time in confusion. "What am I doing in the hospital wing?"

"You don't remember?" Riku asked with a hint of worry. "You fell out of the wall in the Great Hall. You were unconscious."

"Don't remember a thing," Sora replied with a small apologetic smile.

"It's alright. Come on; let's get you back to the Gryffindor tower. It's almost dinnertime. You've been out for a while."

"Yeah… oh wait! I need to talk to McGonagall!" Sora scrambled out of bed, avoiding Riku's grasping hands and slipped his shoes on, grabbed his robe and darted out of the Hospital Wing, slipping his robe on over his head as he ran, heading for the Headmistresses Office, which he vaguely remembered where it was.

"Sora!"

Running through the corridors, Sora grinned as he caught sight of the elderly witch leaving her office. "Professor McGonagall!"

"Mr Hikari?" she asked, turning to look at him in surprise. "Are you feeling better? You gave us all a scare, disappearing and reappearing like that."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I need to talk to you." He slowed to a stop in front of her, barely glancing at Riku who only just caught up to him.

"About what?"

"Sora, just forget about it," Riku urged, grabbing his friends arm.

"No," Sora insisted, focusing on her determinedly. "It's about why I was taken today by Axel."

Minerva focused on the spikey haired teenager in front of her curiously. "Yes, why were you taken?"

Riku suddenly snarled and darted in front of them, the keyblade appearing in his hands as he focused it on the person walking down the corridor.

Zexion raised his hands calmly but didn't stop walking. "Calm yourself Riku. I come in peace."

"And how do I know that Zexion? You've always been a manipulating bastard."

"Riku, calm down," Sora insisted, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hi Zexion."

Zexion nodded a greeting. "Sora. I apologise. I didn't think the darkness would make you pass out like that."

Sora shrugged. "It's fine. I've been through worse."

"Who are you?" McGonagall asked curiously, taking in the image of the man in front of her. He was short, dressed in a dark leather cloak and black combat boots, his hair a purple-grey colour that covered one of his eyes.

"My name is Zexion ma'am. I just wish to talk." Zexion stopped in front of Riku, who was glaring angrily at the man, but had at least straightened up. The keyblade hadn't disappeared yet though.

"Let's head up to my office." She turned and led the way back to her office. The other three followed.

Once they were in, she sat behind the desk and waved her wand, summoning another chair for Zexion. He gratefully sat, Sora and Riku sitting in the others.

"So, what do you want?" she asked curiously.

"My comrades and I, there are eleven of us, wish to seek sanctuary in your school," Zexion immediately began, getting straight to the point.

"And why should I agree to that?" McGonagall asked, leaning back in her chair, listening attentively.

"Like Sora and Riku, we've also appeared from another world and have nowhere to go."

"Why are you all appearing suddenly?"

Zexion took a deep breath and released it. "I think there's a background story I need to tell you first."

He began explaining about Kingdom Hearts, their experiments, how they were changed to nobodies, their quest for Kingdom Hearts, and how they were defeated. By the end Minerva was pretty sure her mind was about to self-destruct.

"Sora, Riku, myself and my comrades all arriving here have me thinking that maybe something will happen soon, something that we must be prepared for. I know it probably won't make much sense, but during our research on the other worlds we came to realise that they quite possibly have a collective consciousness that can interact and influence the way a world reacts to other worlds around it. Worlds with magic for example, would more than likely respond more to threats and would be more proactive against those threats, hence why we are all arriving now."

Sora and Riku just blinked at Zexion, Sora looking dazed, Riku looking contemplative.

"You might be onto something there Zexion," Riku murmured, his own gaze turning thoughtful.

Minerva swallowed, suddenly feeling anxious. They'd had their war with Voldermort. For them to be going into another dark phase was going to cause chaos. "You really think we might be going into another war?"

Zexion shook his head. "Something bigger. If it were just a war within the world it wouldn't react like it has. We would still be going about our normal lives. No… this is bigger. Much bigger."

"What do you propose I do?" McGonagall asked quietly, focusing on the slate haired man.

"Allow my comrades and I to integrate into the society in this school, that way if things suddenly get chaotic we'll be around and won't have people harassing us about who we are and what we're doing. We can also add our own defences to the school if we need to, and can help teach the students, if you'd allow us to." Zexion focused on Sora and Riku. "This is just my guess, but I'm thinking there might be another dark wave coming."

Sora blinked while Riku paled.

"You mean… the world could be…?"

"Overrun by darkness? Yes," Zexion confirmed, nodding solemnly.

"I thought we got rid of all the heartless," Sora whined, pouting at the thought that he was probably going to have to fight some more.

"Unfortunately no, although you have made great progress in destroying their ranks."

Sora grumbled to himself, crossing his arms. "This is so unfair."

McGonagall heaved a huge sigh, trying to think about what to do. They had the rooms for the new people, Merlin knew they did, but it was a question of what uproar this was going to cause if she suddenly invited new people. "Give me some time to think about what I'm going to do," she murmured. "Where have you all been staying?"

"A chamber down below the dungeons."

"Below the dungeons?" Minerva asked in surprise.

Zexion nodded.

The headmistress sighed. "We can put you all in rooms tonight, and feed you, but let me talk to my staff first. This should be as much their decision as mine."

"Thank you," Zexion replied gracefully, bowing his head. "I wasn't expecting anything more. You're being very gracious."

"How will I contact you if I need to?"

Zexion stood and smiled mysteriously. "We'll be listening. Sora, Roxas, Riku, have a pleasant evening." Turning, he strode to the door and walked out.

Sora blinked in surprise, feeling more surprised than he should that the cloaked nobody had acknowledged his other self.

Riku looked at the headmistress, who was looking frustrated and confused, her head in her hands. "If it helps," he began, causing her to blink and look up at him, "I've been around the Organization for a while. I think they're being genuine, or Zexion is anyway. They're not here to cause trouble, and his theory does make sense."

She nodded and straightened up. "Thank you Riku. You two should head to dinner. It's probably well underway by now."

Nodding, Sora and Riku stood. "Thanks Professor McGonagall," Sora said with a smile and led the way out of the office, Riku following him.

As the door shut, she sighed heavily and turned to face the thoughtful looking portrait on the wall. "What do you think Albus?"

"I think they have a very good point, and that you should let them into the school. But what do I know? I'm just a painting." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously as he settled back into his chair and read his book again. "It's your choice Minerva."

She sighed and smiled, shaking her head. "Alright Albus. Have a good evening."

"You too my Dear."

tbc~


	8. First Impressions

_As the door shut, she sighed heavily and turned to face the thoughtful looking portrait on the wall. "What do you think Albus?" _

"_I think they have a very good point, and that you should let them into the school. But what do I know? I'm just a painting." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously as he settled back into his chair and read his book again. "It's your choice Minerva." _

_She sighed and smiled, shaking her head. "Alright Albus. Have a good evening."_

"_You too my Dear."_

Chapter 8 - First Impressions

The next morning, Sora jumped about a foot in the air when he was pounced on and fire red hair slipped into his field of vision. "Oh god! Axel!" he scolded when the fire user cackled and slipped into the bench beside him, Demyx, Zexion and Lexaeus joining him.

"Morning squirt!"

Half the Gryffindor table stared nervously at Lexaeus' hulking frame, as he scooped up some food and began to eat.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, McGonagall cleared things with her staff last night when she had a chance. They'll all be yawning today after their huge discussion, but she pulled it off. We're in for the time being," Axel reported with a grin.

"That's great!"

"Right, Sora, who are your friends?" James asked with a frown as she surveyed the four Organization members.

Sora blinked before suddenly registering that they hadn't been introduced. "Sorry guys, this is Axel, Demyx, Zexion and Lexaeus. They're… well… I wouldn't say friends but I'm hoping we'll get there soon enough." He smiled and Demyx met him with a bright grin.

"Right."

"Demyx, stop being so bubbly," Zexion complained, and the blond pouted.

"Why? Zexy, don't you love me?" he whined and leant over the table to stare into the slate haired man's eyes with wide eyes.

Zexion pushed his face away and sighed. "It's too early to be putting up with your nonsense Demyx. I need coffee first. You know that."

The blond grinned and winked at Sora, who grinned back. "He loves me really, but he just doesn't want to admit it."

"Ugh, fluff," Axel gagged sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "Demyx, lay off the sweet sugary crap. Some of us are trying to eat breakfast."

"But it's good sweet sugary crap."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. You just don't want to admit it. You're jealous~!" he sung, laughing and ducking as the fire user threw a spoon full of baked beans at him.

James just looked amused and shrugged at Sora. "They're okay, I guess."

"Yeah, well we're the fun ones," Axel replied with a shrug. "The others all seem to have a very large stick up their arse."

"Don't let Saix hear you say that," Demyx warned.

Axel paled a little but laughed it off nervously with a shrug. "He's heard me say it a few times."

"Is that why you were limping for a couple of days after Saix when on a rampage?" Demyx asked warily, looking like he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Maybe," the red head replied evasively, scooping up some more food and beginning to eat.

"It was, wasn't it? See, I told you Zexy, it was Saix, not Xaldin!"

The slate haired nobody shrugged and went back to his breakfast of toast and coffee, along with some bacon and eggs. "You started that debate, not me."

Demyx just pouted.

Vexen suddenly slid into a seat across from Lexaeus, Marluxia, Larxene and Luxord joining the other Gryffindor's.

"Good morning," Luxord greeted pleasantly.

"Morning Lux," Demyx greeted with a grin. "Morning Lar-Lar, Marly, Vexen."

"Nine, how many times have I told you not to call me that?" Marluxia growled, glaring at the blond angrily.

"Uh...one hundred and seventy six times, I think," Demyx answered after a several seconds thought, eyes squinted in thought. "Or maybe it was one hundred and seventy seven… is that right?" He looked at Axel for confirmation.

Axel shrugged. "Don't look at me. I haven't been counting."

Marluxia rolled his eyes and served himself some breakfast.

Riku suddenly slid into the seat on the other side of Sora. "Morning," he greeted, giving the Organization members a wary look.

"Morning Riku!" Demyx greeted brightly. "You look well. It's been ages since we saw you last."

"Yeah," he mumbled and immediately went about serving himself some breakfast.

"Jeeze, someone's got the morning grumps. I'm just trying to be nice," Demyx grumbled with a pout.

"Riku's always been a grouch Dem. Don't let him get to you," Xigbar suddenly added, popping out of the table headfirst. The Gryffindor's that saw him screeched in surprise as the man jumped out of what looked like a pudding and landed behind the other members.

Vexen gave the Freeshooter an annoyed look. "Is it impossible for you to make an entrance to breakfast normally?"

"Yup," Xigbar replied with a grin and placed an arm around the academic's shoulders, sighing as it was shrugged off. "Oh loosen up Vex. That stick seems like it's gotten tighter instead of looser after a good night's sleep."

"What stick?" Marluxia asked with a smirk. "He seems to have a permanent butt plug cemented in there."

Vexen glared at the Graceful assassin while Xigbar laughed and Zexion hid a smirk in his coffee. Axel snickered and Demyx just looked confused.

"Can we keep the conversation to a PG rating at the breakfast table please?" Luxord asked grimly, sipping at his coffee. "Some of us would like to eat without vulgar comments making this whole meal unpleasant."

"I agree," Lexaeus rumbled, going back to his toast.

"Spoil sports," Larxene mumbled around a smirk.

Sora blinked at them in confusion while Riku sighed. "Hey um… what's a butt plug?" Sora asked curiously.

The Organization members all blinked at the Keyblade Master before falling about in varying degrees of laughter, unless of course you were Vexen and Lexaeus, who just looked amused. Demyx was also looking curious. Riku blushed bright crimson and hid his face, trying not to laugh as well.

"It's a sex toy," Vexen explained, ignoring the raucous laughter coming from the more immature members of the Organization.

"Oh…" Sora murmured, eyes lighting up in acknowledgement. "But… isn't that bad for your health? Having one permanently cemented in your ass? It must feel weird…"

Riku face palmed and shook his head, a few chuckles leaving his throat to make themselves known. "Sora, you're not meant to take it literally. Xigbar meant it figuratively."

Xigbar, Larxene, Marluxia and Axel by this point were about to hit the floor from how hard they were laughing, tears running down their cheeks as they clutched at their stomachs.

"Oh…" Sora murmured, blushing embarrassedly.

Axel slung an arm around the brunette's shoulders, ignoring the protective glare from Riku, still laughing. "Ah, Sora, how I missed your naivety."

Sora just gave a sheepish grin and went back to his breakfast.

"Good morning," Saix greeted as he appeared behind Larxene and Marluxia. He took one look at the snickering members and decided he'd rather not ask. He focused on Vexen and Zexion instead. "We have a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall this morning after breakfast. All of us."

"Alright," Zexion nodded and took another sip of his coffee.

The Luna Diviner turned and walked away.

"Doesn't he ever eat?" Demyx asked curiously.

"Doesn't look like it," Axel replied with a shrug and a grin. "Maybe it's all those moon beams?"

"Maybe…"

* * *

><p>Sora walked into the dining hall that night for dinner and stopped and stared as he saw Demyx chatting happily to Axel, James, Albus, Lily and Hugo, dressed in Gryffindor robes.<p>

"How the heck did Demyx make Gryffindor?" Riku asked in disbelief, making a beeline for the musical blond.

"I don't know," Sora replied, following his friend.

"Yo," Axel greeted with a two-fingered salute and a grin as they drew closer. "Guess what, we made Gryffindor."

"How?" Riku asked, staring at Demyx. "I mean… I can understand you Axel, but Demyx?"

"We're not sure either," Axel replied with a shrug. "Either way, he is one."

"Where are the others placed?" Sora asked curiously, taking a seat at the table.

Riku joined him, ignoring the glare from Professor Vane.

"Well… Xigbar is staff, and he's Ravenclaw; Xaldin is staff, and he's Slytherin; Vexen is staff, he's a Ravenclaw; Lexaeus is staff, and he's Hufflepuff; Zexion is a student, and he's Slytherin; Saix is staff, and he's Slytherin; I'm a Gryffindor student, obviously; Demyx is a Gryffindor student as well. We're both in seventh year. Luxord is a Slytherin teacher; Marly is Slytherin staff and Larxene is Slytherin staff."

"I would have thought Zexion would be Ravenclaw," Riku mused thoughtfully.

"So did we," Axel said with a shrug. "Although I guess he made Slytherin because he's such a scheming bastard."

"That's not nice Axel," Demyx suddenly defended with a scowl.

"How did you make Gryffindor?" Sora asked the blond musician curiously.

Demyx pouted and teared up a little. "I didn't want to be by myself…"

Riku's palm connected with his face. "The hat has a sense of empathy. Great."

Axel just laughed and slung an arm around his friend, shaking his head. "Only you Dem."

Demyx grinned and shrugged, a light blush crossing his face.

"Good morning!" Demyx greeted cheerfully the next morning.

Lily glared at him. "Must you be so cheerful in the morning?"

"It's his natural charm," Axel informed her, slipping into the seat beside her, making her jump as he practically appeared out of nowhere. "You'll get used to it."

She glared at him while clutching at her chest. "Jeeze, give me a heart attack why don't you?"

"Yup. Didn't you know? It's national scare Lily day," the red head said with a grin as he patted her on the head and grabbed a piece of toast.

She grumbled and brushed him off.

"Good morning you three," Sora greeted as he approached with Rose, Albus and James. "I hope you all slept well?"

"Nope, I have a test first thing this morning and I was up most of the night studying," Lily complained as she yawned.

Rose gave her a sympathetic look. "What topic?"

"Potions."

"Oh, good luck."

"Thanks."

"What time does it start?"

"Soon." She quickly went back to her breakfast, glancing at a couple of pages of notes as she ate.

Rose scooped them up. "Here, I'll test you."

Lily gave her a grateful smile.

* * *

><p>Sora couldn't help but laugh as he found Zexion in his potion's class later that day. The slate haired teen just glared at him and then ignored him.<p>

"Sorry," Sora apologised as he approached the nobody. "I wasn't expecting to find you here. I thought you were older than me?"

"No, I'm a year younger than you," Zexion replied even as he scanned the potions textbook. "Why? Does it interest you that much?"

Sora blinked in surprise at the curt tone. "Well, I suppose so, otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

Zexion blinked and looked at him in surprise before shaking his head. "Go and sit down Sora, we can talk later."

Nodding, the brunette did as he was instructed, a few seconds before the potions master swept into the room.

* * *

><p>"Burn, baby, burn!" Axel cackled later that day at lunch, laughing as he flambéed his underdone steak, which was actually quite well cooked.<p>

The Gryffindor students around him just looked at him and scooted down the bench as far as they could away from him.

Axel didn't care though, and when it was cooked enough for his liking, he smothered the flames, waving a hand over his now smoking steak.

"Must you do that in polite company?" Luxord asked grimly as he approached the fire head.

"Yo, Lux," Axel greeted with a grin as he looked up at the Brit. "Care for some steak?" He reached for another piece of nicely cooked steak.

"No thank you," Luxord quickly intercepted, grimacing at the sight of the charcoal black smoking steak. "I was looking for Vexen. Have you seen him?"

"Last I saw that old fart he was down exploring the potions stores in the dungeons."

"Thanks. Enjoy your…. Steak," Luxord said, not quite sure what to call the lump of burnt meat.

"Will do," Axel said with a laugh and turned back to scoop up some salad.

Luxord just quickly left.

* * *

><p>"Wheeeeeeeeeeee~!" Demyx squealed as he surfed down a corridor on his sitar. The water he was riding left the stone tiles behind him barely damp as it recollected at the front.<p>

People just stared as Demyx swept past them, arms thrown out in front of him.

The wave suddenly froze and stopped dead, sending Demyx flying off his sitar to sprawl on the cold stone. "Ow…. Vexen that hurt!" Demyx whined as he sat up to glare at the Chilly Academic, who was looking rather unimpressed while holding a stack of papers, his right arm outstretched towards the now frozen wave.

"You should not have been riding it through the halls in the first place."

"Why? It's not like I was hurting anyone, or leaving a mess." The musician pouted and stood upright, walking back over to his sitar to try and extract it from the ice.

"Regardless, the last thing we want right now is to be thrown out of the castle," the scientist replied with a sigh before continuing on his way. "Please refrain from such antics for now."

"Fine," Demyx grumbled. "Can you at least unfreeze my sitar before you leave?"

Vexen didn't bother answering and kept walking.

* * *

><p><em>KABOOOM! <em>

The castle rocked and some stone dust rained down on them in the Potion's lab.

"What was that?" Sora asked as he coughed, looking at the ceiling.

"It sounded like Axel," Zexion reported as he went back to his potion, drawing his partners' attention back to the bubbling purple liquid.

"Aren't you even a little bit concerned?" Albus asked worriedly. "I don't know what he blew up, but it sound like a big explosion."

"Demyx is with him and Axel can control his fire. I am not worried about them," Zexion replied without even looking up from reading the instructions in the textbook.

The rest of fourth year Slytherin and Gryffindor took their cue and went back to their work, curiosity burning to go and see what had happened.

Vexen watched them all with an approving eye from the front of the class, his nose buried in a potions book as he scribbled out notes for his own use.

* * *

><p>"AXEL!" Riku yelled angrily as he coughed and unplastered himself from the wall that he'd hit in the last explosion. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"<p>

"This… stupid… stick!" Axel growled as he waved his wand around, flicking it up and down as he tried to get it to work properly. "It won't do what I want it to do. Ugh… You are retarded, you hear me?" He yelled at the wand, before flicking it back at the wall again, creating another explosion, except this one on a smaller scale as he wall exploded.

Riku quickly threw up a shield, reflecting the flying debris before growling at Axel again. "Axel, put the frigging thing down before you kill someone!"

The fire wielder grumbled and did as he was told.

The class all sagged in relief, coughing and either sinking to the ground or pushing themselves upright as the tension released from their bodies now that the danger of being blown up had been removed.

"Mr Flame," Minerva growled, glaring at the red head over the top of her blackened glasses and messy bun, "Would you remain behind please? The rest of you, you are dismissed. Please go and see Madame Pomphry if you need to."

The class all gathered their possessions and left the room quickly, Riku following their example.

"He's insane!" Riku hissed at Demyx, who quickly followed him out of the room with everyone else.

"He's just frustrated," Demyx replied as they walked towards the Gryffindor tower together. "I can understand why. All my spells are coming out with water at the moment. I keep drenching everything I try to do."

"Really?" Riku asked curiously.

"Yup. Ready? I'll show you." Demyx pulled his wand out, flicked it, and said "Lumos!"

A glowing fountain of water emerged from the wand and flew straight at a second year Ravenclaw, drenching her.

She shrieked, and Demyx froze, the spell breaking now that his concentration had been broken.

"Oh… I'm so sorry!" Demyx squeaked. "I didn't know it would hit anyone!"

The girl glared at him before looking down at her dripping books, her eyes widening in horror. "My notes!" Green eyes turned to glare at the blond angrily. "How DARE you! You'll pay for that!" Her wand was whipped out and pointed at Demyx, who squeaked and hid behind Riku. "_Defodio!" _

Riku and Demyx both ducked and the spell flew over their heads, gouging a large hole into the wall behind them. They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They were getting out of there. Both other worlders broke into a sprint for the Gryffindor Tower, the second year Ravenclaw chasing them all the way, firing spell after spell at them angrily.

The Fat Lady took one look at them, opened the portrait and closed it behind them quickly. Demyx and Riku both doubled over, panting as they stood in the middle of the Gryffindor Common room.

"Well, we're alive," Demyx panted as he straightened and wiped the sweat from his chin.

The two fifth years both looked at each other and burst into laughter. Looking back on it, that had been quite funny.

Tbc~


	9. Aliens!

Chapter 9 – Aliens!

"Did you just _see _her face when she opened the tin? The frog idea, genius!" Albus cackled as he and Sora walked down the corridor towards their next lesson – Arithmancy.

Sora gave a half smile and dodged a seventh year student coming the other way that was holding a massive pile of books and couldn't see properly. "Glad you thought so. I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"Well, duh. I do have my Uncle George's name to live up to after all. Besides, a moment like that is priceless."

"Albus!" A deep voice called and both Gryffindor boys turned to find a tall black haired man wading through the flood of students.

Albus paled. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Auror work," the man replied with a grin as he gave his son a hug. "I just saw you on my way to McGonagall's office."

"Oh, okay." Sora laughed as his friend visibly relaxed and hugged his father back. "Oh, dad, this is Sora."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry," the man greeted with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Harry," Sora replied with a smile, noting the similarities between the two Potters.

"So, Albus, this is your dad?" a brunette girl asked with a smile as she sidled up to the younger Potter and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "It's nice to meet you Mr Potter."

"Gabby, off," Albus grumbled and shrugged her arm off. "Yes, this is my dad. Dad, this is Gabrielle. She's a classmate."

"Just a classmate?" Harry asked in amusement.

"Yes, _just_ a classmate," Albus replied quickly, shooting the girl a glare as she opened her mouth to say something.

She grumbled and backed off a bit, glaring at Albus.

"Albus, what are you _doing?_" Scorpius suddenly announced as he ran up to them. "We have that meeting with Professor Flitwick now, remember?"

"Oh yeah! Oops, thanks Score. I completely forgot. Sorry Dad, gotta go. Bye Sora!" Grabbing Scorpius's hand, the two ran off through the halls, darting around and avoiding other students.

Harry just looked a little stunned. "Was that Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Yep," Sora answered.

"Sora!"

Turning, the brunette found Riku and Rose making their way through the corridors towards them. "Riku, Rose," he greeted with a grin and a wave.

"Hello Uncle Harry," Rose greeted. "Are Dad or Mum with you?"

"No, they're not. I'm here on business," Harry replied as he gave her a hug.

"Oh… Sora, did you see Scorpius and Albus come this way?"

"They went to Flitwick's classroom apparently for a meeting."

Her face twisted in annoyance. "Ruddy liars. Scorpius must have seen me coming and jumped in."

"Um…"

"Sorry Uncle Harry, I'll see you later," Rose said and took off down the corridor, bushy red hair bouncing as she walked.

"Um…"

"You're about as lost as I am," Sora replied.

"I think it had something to do with a practical joke, from what Rose was ranting about," Riku added as he too watched the Weasley girl disappear from sight.

"Ah…yes, that I can't blame her for," Harry murmured and shook his head with a sigh.

Sora jerked as he was suddenly elbowed in the side and looked up at Riku, only to find the other teen giving him meaningful looks in the other Wizard's direction.

"Ah… Oh yeah! Sorry, Harry this is Riku, my best friend," Sora said with a smile and Harry met Riku's gaze.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Riku, this is Harry - Albus, Lily and James's father," Sora continued and the aquamarine coloured eyes lit up as they made the connection.

"Ah, now I know why you look familiar."

"Why's that?" Harry asked curiously.

"Albus is a like a younger copy of you while Lily has your face."

"James has his mother's looks," Harry agreed with a fond smile. He suddenly looked around uncomfortably and Sora became aware of all the people who were watching them and whispering as they walked past, a few staring openly with wonder. "How about we get out of here?"

"Sounds good," Sora agreed. The gazes were starting to unnerve him. "Let's go and have some lunch."

The walls suddenly shook as a loud sound shook the air.

_KAPOOFFFFFFFF. _

Once the vibrations had stopped, Harry looked around, obviously looking for the source while Sora and Riku met each other's gaze. "That's wasn't Axel, was it," Sora stated, mildly worried.

"No, his go kaboom - that was a kapoof. That was something completely different."

"How can you tell?" Harry asked in amazement.

"After hearing various explosions long enough you tend to pick up sound differences," Riku answered as he began leading the way towards the sound, where most of the school seemed to be heading as well.

They walked into the main hall near the front doors and Sora and Riku both stopped dead, blinking in surprise.

Cloud, Leon and Yuffie were standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall, weapons out, and Yuffie was talking into some sort of yellow box, while Cloud was attempting to get something out of a younger kid, who was pointing at the three of them and screaming "Aliens!"

"No, we're not-"

"ALIENS!"

"We're no-"

"THEY'RE GONNA EAT US! THEY'RE ALIENS!"

"We're not-"

"THEY'RE GONNA EAT US! THEY'RE GONNA PROBE US AND EAT US!"

"No we're-"

"ALIENS!"

"Will you shut up?" Leon snapped irritably with a glare and, surprisingly, the kid did shut up.

"_Everything okay?"_ a voice crackled through the air, the voice tinged with amusement.

"Yeah, I think so," Yuffie answered. "Cloudster's just convinced a kid he's an alien with just his looks."

A snort of amusement came through the box. _"Like that's not normal." _

"Well yeah, I mean, come on, the hair for one is so unnaturally spiky it's cool and creepy at the same time."

"Yuffie," Cloud growled, glaring at the ninja in annoyance.

"And the sword, let's not forget the majorly oversized sword that only an alien would carry," she continued with a grin.

"Not helping," Cloud growled through gritted teeth.

"And there's the eyes, let's not forget the eyes, that change colour and slit whenever he's having an episode, oh! And the fact that he's freakishly strong and fast due to the mako infusion."

"Not helping Yuffie!" Cloud roared and leapt at the girl, who laughed and danced out of the way.

"_Yuffie, stating all the reasons why Cloud could be an alien when you're on another world is not the best way to gain their trust. Stop it." _

"Fiiine," she replied with a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"_Just find the kid and then let us know so we can summon you all back. By the sound of things they could get a bit rough." _

"Fine, Mr Grumpy Pants," she grumbled.

"_Over and out."_ The box crackled and fell silent.

Yuffie sighed and put the box away. "So, what's the plan?"

"Hey, you, come here." Leon beckoned to an older witch with a finger. She stiffened up and backed away further. The gunblader sighed. "We're looking for a friend. Do you think you can help us find him?"

"Who are you looking for?" Harry asked as he approached warily, wand out and pointing at the trio.

Cloud's eyes narrowed in on the stick and his stance shifted to something more defensive, while Leon straightened and focused on the man as well, seemingly alert, his hand drifting to brush the weapon he wore at his waist. Yuffie slipped a couple of knives into her hands and kept them hidden, just in case.

"We're looking for a boy called Sora. He's sixteen," Cloud said. "And another boy, Riku. He's seventeen. Do you know them?"

Harry's body stiffened a little bit. "What do you want with them?"

"Do you know them?" A voice whispered in Sora's ear and he turned to find Lily standing beside him.

"Yeah, they're friends of mine," Sora whispered back.

"Well then get down there," the girl hissed. "Dad's more than likely going to start a fight otherwise."

She shoved him forward and Sora stumbled, jostling into various students who looked at him in annoyance. Riku followed him as the brunette pushed his way down to the main floor and made his way over to the four at a standstill in the middle of the room.

"Hey guys," he greeted with a smile.

They all looked at him. "Sora!" Yuffie greeted with a bright grin and a smile as she bounced over to hug him.

"You okay?" Leon asked, not taking his gaze off of the wizard in front of him, hand still resting on his gunblade.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, can we all relax? No one is attacking anyone today. Harry, they're friends of mine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he answered with a smile.

There was a commotion as the students on the stairs behind them all suddenly pressed themselves into the sides as a congregation of teachers swept into the main hall, wands all drawn and approaching quickly. "Who are you, and what's the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked sternly as she stopped beside Harry.

Cloud and Leon's hands gripped their sword hilts as they shifted, waiting for anything. The wands pointed at them more firmly as the wizards and witches focused more.

Sora threw his hands up in the air and threw a look of disbelief over his shoulder at Riku, who shrugged.

"Sora, come here," Cloud ordered quietly. "Riku, you too. Yuffie, buzz Merlin and tell him we're ready to be resummoned."

She did as she was told, watching the others warily.

"Sora! Riku! Now!" Leon snapped as he shifted his stance a bit.

"WILL YOU ALL JUST STOP AND LISTEN FOR A MINUTE!" Sora suddenly exploded, leaving the entire crowd, including Leon, Cloud and all the teachers looking at him in disbelief. "These guys are my friends. They aren't a threat," he said, waving at the trio of other worlders. "These are my teachers – they're just protecting the students. Now, can we all put away our weapons so we can have a fucking decent conversation?"

"Sora, are you okay?" Riku asked cautiously. He'd never seen Sora get angry like this, ever. Even after they'd gotten back to the islands.

"I'm fine Riku."

"Are you sure?" he asked cautiously.

"YES I'M FUCKING FINE!" Sora snarled as he turned on his friend, and Riku paled as the light caught on his features, and showed the brunette spikes as blond.

"Sora… you need to calm down…"

"I AM CALM!" Sora screeched loudly.

Someone snorted in amusement and a voice drifted across the hall in whisper. "He's having a Roxy rage."

Sora snarled and turned to whomever it was the whisper sounded from, his finger pointing at Axel, who was whispering to Demyx. "DON'T YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT ROXY RAGES YOU FLAMING HYPOMANIAC!"

"What's a hypomaniac?" Demyx whispered in confusion.

"I don't know," Axel whispered back. "We'll have to ask Zexion later."

"You…" There was a clatter and everyone turned to look at Yuffie, who was almost white and had dropped everything she was holding, staring at Demyx wide eyed. "You… why are you…? You're supposed to be dead!" She turned on Sora, obviously looking for answers as she pointed at Demyx across the room. "Why isn't he dead? I saw you kill him!"

"That's a bit mean," Demyx said with a frown. "I mean, yeah, he did but… meh… Hakuna Matata."

Axel just looked at him in disbelief. "Seriously dude? Hakuna Matata?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean, it was all the past, so it seems like the perfect phrase. Besides, the pig and meerkat used it. Actually, now that I think about it, so did the lion…" the blond added in thoughtfully.

"I don't want to know…"

"Is SOMEONE going to answer my question?" Yuffie snapped. "Why is he alive? Why are you alive?" She snapped and turned her attention to Demyx, who looked stunned.

"That is a very long story and not one we want to tell here," Zexion answered as he suddenly appeared beside Sora.

Leon's jaw went slack and his hand dropped from the hilt of his gunblade. "Y-you're…Ienzo?"

Zexion nodded. "One of Ansem the Wise's apprentices, yes."

"Okay, SOMEONE explain to me what's going on," Cloud demanded with a scowl.

"Again, that is a very long story and not one we want to tell here," Zexion repeated with a sigh.

"_Yuffie? Countdown is 3…" _

"Sora, Riku, quick!" Leon suddenly barked, his brain kicking back into gear. He reached forward and grabbed Sora's arm, dragging him forward, Riku quickly leaping forward as well.

"_2…"_

They all gripped Yuffie, who had the box back in her hand.

"1."

There was a loud explosion as magic crackled and smoke puffed around them, leaving all five coughing and spluttering. Once the air cleared Leon, Cloud and Yuffie blinked in confusion as they found out they were still in the middle of the entrance hall, staring at the faces of some very unimpressed looking wizards and witches.

"Hey, Merlin, what's going on?" Yuffie asked. "We're still here."

"_The spell worked,"_ the voice crackled through. _"Although why you were not transported is unclear. Hold up, I'll be right there." _

There was a crack and suddenly Cid swore loudly. _"The old geezer's just gone down for some reason. Looks like you won't be getting back anytime soon." _

Leon reached over and took the box out of Yuffie's hand. "Can you come out and pick us up with the Gummy ship?"

"_I can, but it'll take me a while. I have no idea where you are so warping won't be an option, and I'll have to trace you." _

"Alright, do that and keep us updated," Leon said and sighed, handing the box back to the ninja.

Cloud sighed and shook his head, releasing his grip on Riku's shoulder. "I hate magic."

"Hey, it's not all bad," Sora protested with a frown.

Harry frowned and dropped his wand a bit, looking over at McGonagall, who caught his gaze and nodded. They put their wands away and in return the others relaxed and released their weapons, Yuffie slipping the knives back inside their pouch.

"How about we all go up to my office and talk?" Minerva decided quietly and looked around the entrance hall, taking in all the curious looking faces. "The rest of you go and eat lunch then head to class."

The mass of students eventually started moving and talking again as they were all gifted with a glare.

"Demyx, Axel, you come too," Zexion demanded with a frown as the two nobodies made to make off with the rest of the students.

Demyx frowned but nodded, grabbing Axel by the wrist and dragging him forward.

Tbc~

* * *

><p>I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this up! My sister used all our download and the only thing that worked (some nights) was Facebook. it literally only just reset today, so I got this chapter up as soon as possible. I hope you all enjoyed it, and i'll try and get the next chapter up next week. :)<p>

Let me know what you think. Things are going to start picking up. ^_^

Ciao!


	10. Possessions

_The mass of students eventually started moving and talking again as they were all gifted with a glare. _

"_Demyx, Axel, you come too," Zexion demanded with a frown as the two nobodies made to make off with the rest of the students. _

_Demyx frowned but nodded, grabbing Axel by the wrist and dragging him forward. _

Chapter 10 - Possessions

The group followed McGonagall up to her office, Cloud, Leon and Yuffie staring around wide eyed, Cloud looking more and more unsure as they continued up. When the stairs first moved Yuffie yelped and almost jumped out of her skin while Cloud and Leon just gripped the railing to steady themselves. Sora reassured them that it was completely normal.

"How the heck are moving stairs completely normal?" Leon grumbled with a scowl as he continued on carefully.

"You get used to a lot in this place," Sora explained brightly.

Riku watched Sora closely all the way up to McGonagall's office, glad that the brunette seemed to be himself again. He frowned as his thoughts drifted. What had caused Roxas to emerge like that? Maybe it was the sudden appearance of the Organization? He'd have to talk to Vexen about it – or Zexion.

Then again… maybe not. He still didn't trust any of them, but they'd probably have a better idea about what was going on than he would.

Minerva led the way into her office and led the way to a lounge area behind her desk, waving her wand and summoning tea and lunch before taking a seat.

Everyone sat, Leon, Cloud and Yuffie looking around the room curiously.

"Okay," Yuffie began, looking curiously at some floating glass spheres, "I know Merlin has some weird stuff, but this is just…"

"Unreal," Cloud finished quietly as he noticed the paintings on the walls moving, peering down at them curiously. He leant closer to the brunette ex-SeeD. "Hey, Leon, we weren't drugged, were we? Or hit with one of Merlin's experimental spells?" he asked quietly, still watching the paintings warily.

"No," Leon replied, seemingly unsure of his own answer. "At least, I don't think we were." He was still looking at Zexion with wary curiosity.

Zexion meanwhile was making himself a cup of tea while Sora, Riku, Demyx and Axel all hooked into the plate of sandwiches.

"Please, help yourself," Minerva offered, nodding for Harry to do the same.

He gave her a grateful smile and made himself a tea.

Cloud finally finished looking around enough to sate his curiosity and looked back at the group currently munching. Sora and Riku seemed at ease, even if Riku was a little on edge. His eyes narrowed but Cloud turned his gaze back to the elderly woman, who seemed to be the one in charge.

"What are you all doing here?" Minerva asked, getting straight down to business. There was no point in flouncing around.

"We got a distress call from Kairi," Leon began, looking directly at the two Islanders. "Apparently you two disappeared out of your beds with no warning at all, and everyone was in a panic."

Sora blinked, his blue gaze saddening at the news. "Yeah, we didn't have any warning at all. We both woke up in the Forbidden Forest one morning in our pyjamas. We didn't have anything with us."

Leon nodded. He'd assumed that much.

Yuffie started digging through the backpack she had brought. "We thought so, so we paid each of your houses a visit and brought you some stuff." She tossed a bundle of clothes at both Keyblade Wielders with a grin.

Sora and Riku blinked in surprise before unwrapping the clothes.

"My clothes from the Three Good Fairies!" Sora cheered, launching himself at the ninja with a hug. "You're the best Yuffie!"

"I know," she replied smugly, hugging him back, before letting him go and pushing him back towards his clothes. "Go look in your pockets."

Blinking, Sora did as he was told and stared as he opened the pockets, piles of his protection accessories falling out of them, enough for both of them. "You're amazing Yuffie," he breathed and immediately began putting his favourites on under the robes, tossing the rest at Riku, who went through them and picked out what he wanted, putting on a couple of rings and an Aegis anklet.

"Whoa, I knew you had big pockets Sora, but I think there's more," Axel mused as he took in the still bulging pockets.

Blinking, Sora opened them and breathed a sigh of relief with a grin as he noticed them stuffed with Potions and Hi-Potions. "You really are amazing Yuffie."

"I know," the girl preened as she grinned and watched him, her chin resting on both her hands, her elbows on her knees.

"Hey, Sora, look," Riku said suddenly, having gone through his own clothes bulging pockets, only to find more potions, protection accessories, and Sora's collection of key charms.

Sora blinked and reached over to pluck the bundle out of his best friends hands. "You bought them all?" He asked in surprise, looking back at the ninja.

"That's was Leon's suggestion, not mine," Yuffie explained with a smile.

"Thanks," Sora said quietly, looking at the older brunette, his eyes a little teary.

Leon nodded, giving Sora a small smile, which was the barest twitch of his lips.

Sora still caught it though and grinned back at him brightly.

"What is the Organization doing back?" Leon asked, looking at Zexion curiously.

"We don't know either," Zexion replied as he set his tea down gently on the table. "All we know is that we woke up one day a couple of months ago in a chamber down below the dungeons."

"Why haven't you left?" Cloud asked curiously.

"We can travel within the world with dark portals, but we are unable to leave this world altogether."

"Really?" Yuffie asked, suddenly looking worried. She looked at her two companions. "Hey, do you think we'll be able to leave?"

"Cid's coming with the Gummy Ship, remember? We should be able to just fly out of here," Leon replied.

"How are you all alive?" Cloud asked curiously, looking between Demyx, Axel and Zexion. "Castle Oblivion was taken out at least 12 months ago, maybe more, but you said you just suddenly appeared in the chamber, just after, if the timing is correct, when Xemnas was taken down." He looked at Sora and Riku for confirmation.

They both nodded, looking back at Zexion.

Zexion rubbed his temples irritably as he leant back into the cushions. "We have discussed the possibilities. The easiest one, and most believable one we came to, was that somehow Xemnas managed to store our abilities, which, while we were living at Never Was Castle, I came to realise were sort of like our heart replacements."

"Actually, that does make sense," Sora suddenly spoke up, glancing at Riku briefly. "When we were fighting Xemnas, there were four or five versions of him that we had to fight. During one of the fights, he used all the abilities of the Organization that I'd defeated, and others, which I didn't understand until Riku explained it all to me. He used water, fire, wind, earth, lightening, space, and a few others. And then in another battle where I fought him alone, he took me to a different dimension and created a scenario around us, but it wasn't really there."

"That does sound like my illusion power," Zexion agreed, raising his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful.

"When we defeated that version of him, maybe all your powers were released?" Sora suggested.

"But then how did you end up here?" Riku added in.

"This world must have snatched our powers, which would have naturally returned to where they first came from," Axel added in, also looking thoughtful.

Demyx just looked confused.

Leon nodded. Cloud blinked. He didn't really understand all of it, but he got the gist of what everyone was saying.

Harry meanwhile was looking completely lost. "I think I'm missing the basic story here," he said, looking at Minerva for an explanation.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. She'd barely come to grips with the story she'd heard the other night, and now this. Her brain really was going to explode if she wasn't careful. "I'll explain it after."

The Auror didn't look happy with that explanation but he let it pass.

"What do you three plan to do until your friend comes?" Minerva asked wearily, focusing on the three newbies.

"It's probably best if we stick together with Sora and Riku," Leon decided, turning a steady gaze on the headmistress. "At least that way we know we're all in one place when Cid does get here."

"Can they join us? Please, Professor McGonagall?" Sora pleaded, giving the woman his best puppy eyes.

She sighed. "Mr Hikari, I'm sorry, but we already have so many people here. Many more and we'll start drawing the attention of the Daily Prophet and the Ministry."

"Can they at least spend a couple of nights?" Sora asked pleadingly. "We can catch up then, and Leon, Cloud and Yuffie are probably all tired anyway. Besides, they have nowhere to go, and no currency."

The woman sighed again before closing her eyes and blocking out those blue eyes. She could see the sense in Sora's request, and she was leaning towards letting them stay….

"Alright, but only until you find your feet elsewhere."

"Yes!" Sora cheered, grinning at Yuffie, who grinned back.

"Thank you," Leon replied with a nod.

She nodded back with a smile. Getting up, she walked over to her desk and rang a bell. It tinkled, and within a second or so there was a small pop and a small pointy-eared creature dressed in rags appeared.

"What does Headmistress require of Blinky?" the creature asked with a bow. "More tea? Or perhaps some snacks?"

"No Blinky. Could you please gather a couple of other house elves and ensure that they set up three guest rooms for our new guests?"

"More guests?" the creatures asked, and Cloud felt himself recoil a bit at the familiar distortion of features as the big beady eyes turned to look at them.

Leon placed a calming hand on the blonde's leg and squeezed gently, steading the ex-SOLDIER, without looking away from the creature before him.

Cloud swallowed and released a slow breath, calming himself purposefully. He gave a small nod to show he was okay.

Leon lifted his hand and put it back on his own lap, without even glancing in the blonde's direction.

"Yes, let me know when the rooms are ready please."

"Blinky shall see to it right away Headmistress." With a low bow, the creature vanished with another small pop.

"Professor," Harry spoke up, focusing green eyes on the headmistress. "If you like, I can talk to Shacklebolt to see if he'll let me take charge of any and all reports coming from Hogwarts about the guests."

The woman seemed to relax and she smiled. "I would be grateful for that," Minerva replied gratefully. She focused on the three guests. "Young Lady, how old are you?"

Yuffie blinked. "Seventeen."

"And you two? I'm assuming you're over seventeen?"

Cloud's lips twitched in amusement as he nodded, Leon doing the same.

"What are you both good at?" She asked, coming to sit down again. "Magic?"

"Hyne, no!" Yuffie burst out with a peal of laughter. "These two are much better at hitting each other with swords than magic."

"Swords?" Harry asked, suddenly interested.

Leon tapped the gunblade that was resting against his hip still while Cloud flicked a thumb at the giant blade that lay resting against the back of the couch behind him.

Harry, McGonagall, and Zexion's eyes widened in surprise.

"You can actually use that thing? It looks heavy," Harry replied in surprise.

"It is," Yuffie replied with a smirk, glancing at the blond.

Cloud just looked smug as he crossed his arms.

Harry looked contemplative, as did Minerva, before she shook her head.

A small pop had Blinky the house elf popping back into the room, the elf bowing. "The rooms are ready Headmistress."

"That was quick," Sora commented with a blink.

"Thank you Blinky. Which rooms are they?"

"The East Wing behind the bowl of fruit for the young Miss, the water jug for one young Master, and the dog for the other young Master," the house elf informed, still in his bow.

"Thank you. I'll take them there now then."

The elf disappeared with another pop.

Leon and Cloud both blinked in confusion at the room references. Yuffie's head just tilted to the side curiously.

"Come, I'll take you to your rooms and then give you a tour of the castle," Minerva decided as she straightened her forest green robes. "Mr Hikari, Mr Valley, Mr Flame, Mr Melody and Mr Schemer, you can all return to class."

Zexion nodded and stood, the others following his example, even as Sora protested, but he followed the instructions with a pout.

Cloud, Leon and Yuffie all stood up as well, Yuffie hugging the brunette as a goodbye when he followed Riku to the door of the office.

Harry and Minerva watched in amazement as Cloud absently grabbed his sword with one arm and flicked it around, slinging it into its back holder. The others thought nothing of it though, as though it was a normal occurrence, and Leon nodded to the Headmistress to show they were ready.

"This way then," she said and led the way out of the office to begin the tour, Harry following and managing to draw Yuffie into an enthusiastic conversation.

* * *

><p>Sora didn't see his friends until dinner that night; even then they were dragged up to the teachers table to socialize with the teachers. They were watched curiously throughout the night by most of the students, curious rumors and talk about their strange appearance being the conversation topic during the main meal amongst the students. After that, they were dragged off by the Headmistress, and the four heads of houses.<p>

"Think we'll see them again?" Lily asked curiously as she watched Leon, Cloud and Yuffie being escorted out of the Great Hall.

"Yeah, we will," Sora replied with a grin and went back to his desert.

"You sound certain," Hugo said as he drizzled some honey onto his custard sponge.

"I know they're staying," was the only reply Sora would give with a smug smile.

* * *

><p>When Sora went to wake Cloud and Leon up the next morning, he found both of them in Leon's room. As he barged in saying – or in another's opinion, yelling - a cheery good morning, he stopped and stared at the blond tuft of hair emerging from the covers to glare at him in annoyance.<p>

"Sora, what do you want?" Leon grouched, also glaring at the hyper brunette in the doorway.

"I uh… came to get you both for breakfast," Sora replied in surprise, blinking at the two heads that were appearing. He could have sworn the blond was in his own room when they went to bed last night. "I figured you might get lost otherwise."

Cloud groaned and pulled the covers up over his head while Leon just sat up and rubbed his eyes, the covers falling to his lap, leaving his chest bare. "Is it morning already?"

"Yep," Sora replied chirpily. "So come on, up!"

"Sora, we don't exactly have anything we need to do today," Leon grumbled, glaring at the blue-eyed teen.

"Oh come on, stop being spoil sports!" Sora whined, bouncing over to the bed and half landing on it as he attempted to tug the covers down from Cloud's head.

"Go away Sora," Cloud groaned, his voice muffled by the blankets. "We were up late, and we're both tired."

"Well that's your fault, not mine," the brunette pouted. "Come on, just come to breakfast, please? There are some people I want you to meet."

Leon took one look at the pout and groaned, knowing that this was going to spell trouble for the two of them. "Sora, no, not now. You can introduce us at lunch."

"Please?"

Leon took one look at the big blue eyes that were begging him and groaned in defeat. "Fine… wait outside while we get dressed."

"We?" Cloud asked in surprise, glaring up at him from the blankets. "No, you, not we."

"Cloud, come on."

"It's your fault for looking at him."

"Cloud," Leon pleaded, giving him a big-eyed look that had Sora's jaw dropping in disbelief from his position on the end of the bed.

Cloud sighed heavily as he closed his eyes. "Fine. Sora, get out."

Quickly jumping off the bed, Sora rushed to the door. "You have two minutes!"

They both glared after him as the door shut.

Cloud sat up and glared at the brunette. "I blame you."

Leon smiled and leaned over to kiss lover. "Good morning to you too grouchy."

"I still can't believe you're a morning person. It just doesn't seem to fit with your ice personality."

"It's alright, you're not the only one," the brunette chuckled and glared at the door when it opened slightly.

"One minute thirty seconds!" Sora called before it shut again.

"We really need to figure out how to change that password," Cloud sighed before rolling out of bed to start getting dressed.

"It would never work against Sora," Leon argued as he copied the blond. "Sora's a keyblade master. Nothing works against him."

"Yes, but it will against Yuffie."

"True…"

They were donning their armour and other accessories when Sora threw the door open again. "Come on," he whined, bouncing anxiously on the balls of his feet. "I'm hungry and unlike you two I have classes today."

"You don't have to wait for us," Cloud threw back as he rolled his eyes, slinging his buster sword onto his back.

"I do, because it was either me or Riku who came to get you guys."

"I think I would have preferred Riku," Leon muttered as he pulled his gloves on, scooping up his gunblade after that. "You're too cheerful in the morning."

"So are you," Cloud bit back with a smirk. "I think you enjoy doing it just to freak me out in the morning."

"Does it work?"

"Obviously," Cloud snorted and headed towards the door. "Come on slow poke."

Leon followed. "Bird boy."

"Ice Princess."

"Glow worm."

"Snuggle bug."

"Teddy Bear."

"Okay!" Sora interrupted, giving the two warriors mildly scared looks. "You two are freaking me out."

"Good," they both answered before smirking at each other and continuing towards the Great Hall.

"So, who are we meeting?" Cloud asked curiously when they started to meet up with various other yawning students on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Some friends I met here," Sora replied with a smile before it widened and he straightened up, a hand waving. "OI! RIKU! YUFFIE!"

Leon and Cloud both winced as the Keyblade Wielder's voice hit their eardrums.

"Morning!" Yuffie chirped as she skipped towards them with a bright smile, Riku following at a slower pace with an armful of books and his hair tied back, one hand in his pocket.

Riku greeted Cloud and Leon with a nod and an apologetic shrug.

Cloud glared at the silver haired teen, insistent that he get his message across. Leon, noticing the blonde's direction of irritation, placed a distracting hand on his comrade's shoulder and squeezed warningly, nodding a greeting to Riku.

Yuffie and Sora, who hadn't noticed the exchange at all, were walking down the corridor chattering loudly, Yuffie telling him everything that had come to pass the night before.

"Sorry about Sora," Riku apologised to the two stoic males. "He insisted we come collect the three of you for breakfast."

"Next time, let him collect Yuffie," Cloud grumbled as he adjusted the way his buster sword was hanging on his back. It was a little uncomfortable.

Riku smirked a little as they reached the Great Hall, and he raised a hand, waving at Scorpius, Albus, Lily, James, Hugo and Rose, who had all noticed them the moment they came in. Sora waved brightly as well and grabbed the ninja's wrist, dragging her down the aisle, still chattering happily.

"Good morning!" Sora greeted brightly as he sat down next to Albus, dragging Yuffie onto the bench beside him. Cloud and Leon sat down as well, Riku jumping over the table of food to sit beside Rose on the other side. She gave him a disapproving look, which he ignored. "Okay, everyone, I want you to meet some friends of mine."

Yuffie gave the group of Weasley and Potter witches and wizards a wink and peace sign, her tongue sticking out a little. "Hi! I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

"And this is Cloud and Leon," Sora introduced, indicating which male was which.

They both nodded a greeting to the teenagers, Lily's face blanked and dazed as she stared at Leon with awe.

Leon shifted his gaze to the witch curiously and she blushed, quickly dropping her gaze. No one noticed Cloud move his hand under the table to grip Leon's tightly. The brunette just gave him an amused look.

"Guys, this is Hugo, James, Lily, Rose, Albus, and Scorpius," Sora continued introductions flawlessly, not noticing anything.

"Nice to meet ya!" Yuffie said with a grin and a nod. She eyed the food in front of them contemplatively. "It's just help yourself, right?"

"Right," Sora confirmed as he began scooping food onto his plate.

The others copied them, Leon reappearing with both hands, as did Cloud.

"So what have you guys got on today?" Sora asked curiously as he looked at his friends.

"A couple of meetings with various people," Cloud replied with a shrug. "Minerva wants to have a chat to us about our options here as well."

"Do you think you'll stay here?" Riku asked curiously as he speared another sausage. "Or will you stay somewhere else?"

The two males exchanged looks before looking back at the other teen. "Here," Leon replied with a shrug as he spread some jam on a piece of buttered toast.

"Why?" Sora asked curiously.

"Cid will trace Merlin's spell to here, because this is where we arrived," Cloud explained. "It makes sense to stay as close as we can to here."

"And so when he does get here, we know where you two are," Leon added.

"Oh," Sora murmured and nodded. "That makes sense."

Leon nodded in satisfaction and went back to his breakfast.

The morning mail arrived, and Yuffie, Leon, and Cloud's heads shot up in surprise as the Great Hall suddenly filled with owls, all swooping in to find their owners and drop the parcels and mail they were carrying.

Scorpius stood up and caught a box like parcel that dropped into his hands, just barely saving his scrambled eggs, and sat down again as he pulled the letter off the twine holding the brown paper over the box.

"Ooh, what did your dad send you this time?" Albus asked eagerly as he reached over and grabbed the box as his friend opened the letter and read it.

"Apparently some new brand of chocolate he's found that he deems satisfactory. He wishes for my opinion on it."

Albus frowned but opened the parcel anyway, tearing the wrapping paper off the box of chocolates. "He's testing you again, isn't he?"

Scorpius smirked and placed the letter back in its envelope. "Obviously."

Albus studied the box curiously before handing them back to his friend, his face twisting in disgust. "All yours."

The Malfoy snorted in amusement and took the box to look over himself, a smirk dancing across his lips. "Thanks Al."

"You're welcome."

Tbc~


	11. Finding Old Friends

_Albus studied the box curiously before handing them back to his friend, his face twisting in disgust. "All yours." _

_The Malfoy snorted in amusement and took the box to look over himself, a smirk dancing across his lips. "Thanks Al." _

"_You're welcome."_

Chapter 11 – Finding Old Friends

Cloud, Leon and Harry walked into the Great Hall just in time for the feast to begin. "They decided they had to meet you when I mentioned you after I got back yesterday. They're completely insane, drive me completely bonkers, but they're damn good at what they do so I can't really complain," Harry was explaining as they walked down the space between the tables.

Cloud froze when they reached the end of the tables and spotted a familiar red head with long red hair laughing and chatting with one of the other teachers, the space beside him empty.

"Cloud?" Leon asked as he turned back with a frown, taking in the blonde's deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. He got no answer.

Harry looked confused as well as he glanced between Cloud and Reno, who had spotted the blond and was grinning as he jumped over the table.

"Spike! It's been forever! How've you been? It's been completely rough since ShinRa disappeared, but I managed to learn magic. Magic! Do you know what sort of shit I can get into now? No offence boss."

"None taken," Harry muttered under his breath and frowned as Cloud still didn't move.

"Hey, look, Cloud's frozen," Yuffie whispered to Sora from the Gryffindor table. "I wonder what's up?" She suddenly frowned. "Hey… is that Reno?"

Sora curiously turned to face the front of the hall, the rest of Gryffindor catching on that something wasn't right and pausing in their actions to watch the unfolding events.

"Cloud?" Leon asked and tapped the blond on the shoulder.

Cloud jerked and blinked rapidly, his entire body tense as he glanced around, almost hyperventilating.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked before shooting a suspicious glare in the red head's direction. "What did you do to him? He's completely traumatised."

The door to the side suddenly opened and closed and Cloud's eyes focused on the person coming out. Blue eyes met blue and the other man smiled as the blonde's jaw dropped, his mind going blank. "Hey Cloud, long time no see."

Faster than even Leon could see, Cloud had torn out of his grip and tackled the black haired man across the room in a hug, shudders racking his body as sobs began to make themselves known.

"Who's that?" Leon asked Harry, frowning slightly as he watched the man shake his head and wrap his arms around the blond familiarly and rub them up and down in a soothing motion, jealousy beginning to curl in his gut.

"Zack Fair. He has amazing reflexes, and he's the strongest person I know. Aside from Reno you can feed him pretty much anything and it'll wear off almost instantaneously."

"Zack?" He asked, eyes wide as they shot back to the two in the corner.

"Shh, shh," Zack hushed as he met Leon's gaze and nodded a greeting.

Yuffie was suddenly standing beside Leon and she was glaring at Reno murderously. "YOU!" she shrieked and stormed forward. "YOU! I've been waiting so long to get back at you. How DARE you destroy part of my hometown with a vodka bomb! Just so you know it took us WEEKS to restore all the damage you did and get rid of all the confetti! How the fuck did you manage to get that drunk anyway?! And what the HELL have you done to Cloud?! Do you know how traumatised he was when I first met him?! He's STILL fucking traumatised! Every time I pulled out a bottle of juice from the fridge he'd watch me until I put it away! I couldn't even land a prank on him for months when we first met! You owe me BIG TIME! And I want an apology!"

Cloud had stopped sniffling halfway through Yuffie's rant and lifted his head to look over at the furious ninja, who was standing with her hands planted on her hips and ranting in Reno's face.

"Okay, first of all, it was a Molotov cocktail, not a vodka bomb. There's a difference," Reno answered with a pout. "Second, you've seen me before. Why didn't you rant at me then?"

"We were kind of in the middle of a life or death battle in case you don't remember," Yuffie grumbled, her eyebrow twitching as she folded her arms, lower lip sticking out in a pout.

Reno snickered at the memory. "Yeah… that was fun." He suddenly looked at Zack and grinned. "Speaking of pranks…"

Zack grinned back and they both focused on Cloud, who paled.

"No," he began and tried to push himself out of his best friend's arms, who just tightened them. "No."

"Come on Spike, it'll be fun. Just like old times, right Reno?"

"Right you are duck head."

Cloud began struggling as Reno approached with a leering grin and Zack quickly flipped him around so he had a better grip on his wrists. Gritting his teeth, Cloud slammed his foot down into Zack's ankle and tumbled forward as the other SOLDIER member yelped and clutched his foot on reflex, letting him go.

"CATCH HIM!" Zack yelled and Cloud dived out of the way as Reno leapt. Rolling, he darted down the space between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables at a sprint, Reno hot on his heels. Zack dived down the other corridor and sprinted for the main doors.

Halfway down, Cloud's instincts screamed at him to move and he did, the floor exploding behind him just as he leapt up and over the table, skidding down the Ravenclaw table as he landed and flipped again, making a sprint for the main doors, ducking under Zacks spell attack and dodging the wall as it exploded just above his head.

Darting out the doors, Zack and Reno followed barely a second later.

Sighing, Harry gave McGonagall an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, if I'd known that was going to happen I would have given them a warning beforehand, or stopped them from coming."

"You were better off coming with them. Reno in particular tends to get what he wants, and manages to do things that defy logic," Yuffie replied with a shrug.

"You know them?" Harry asked curiously.

"Boy do I. I pity you so much. They drove their previous boss insane."

Harry frowned. "Who was that?"

Yuffie met Leon's gaze and smirked. "Sephiroth."

Leon blinked in surprise. "Sephiroth was Reno and Zack's boss?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Well, he was Zack and Cloud's. Reno was a Turk, but SOLDIER's and Turks often crossed paths."

They all jumped as there was suddenly an explosion outside from somewhere that lit up the windows behind the teachers, and then a crackle of blue light and another explosion. Teachers were suddenly crowding at the windows to see what was happening and students were standing on the bench chairs to see over them.

Leon frowned as his senses tingled and eyes widened as a shadow flew towards the windows in another explosion. "GET DOWN!" He yelled and a few teachers followed the orders and dropped like rocks as something smashed through the windows, shattering glass everywhere, and the brunette put his hand out to stop Harry from flicking a spell at the dark shape. "It's Cloud."

Sure enough, the blond flipped himself, sword drawn, and Leon frowned as he noticed a section missing from it. Barely a second later, Zack smashed through another window with a grin and Reno jumped through an already made hole barely five seconds later, avoiding the sword battle that was taking place between the two ex-SOLDIER's.

Harry blinked and watched as they both leapt into the air, Cloud firing a black light at Zack, who dodged in mid-air, somehow, and pouted. "Hey! No fair using materia!"

"Deal," Cloud grinned and fired another light shot, this one green as he landed on a wall and pushed back in his best friend's direction.

Harry, McGonagall and everyone else froze as Reno, who had been about to go and join them stopped moving. Harry crept forward and poked the red head with his wand. "What the… what kind of magic makes a person stop moving? What sort of spell is that? It doesn't have any of the normal characteristics of a motion spell."

"It's not a spell, its mako infused magic," Leon explained as he watched the battle above him rage on. "Don't worry. It'll wear off in a few minutes."

Zack met Cloud blade for blade and laughed at the serious light in his friend's eyes. "Lighten up Spike. You've been fighting seriously for too long." They disengaged and _finally_ fell, Cloud landing on the Slytherin table, who all jerked back, along with the Ravenclaw's, while Zack landed on the staff table, grinning like a maniac.

"Fair, that's enough. Cut it out," Harry barked angrily. "You're in enough trouble right now as it is. Both you and Tarshil."

"Sorry boss, but I don't think Spike's going to back down from this one."

Leon's stomach dropped as he noticed the blonde's eyes begin glowing. "You'd better clear the students out," he muttered as he unhooked his own weapon from his belt, just in case. "Things are about to get messy."

"What?" Harry asked in alarm. He looked back at his Auror and noticed how the black haired man's eyes suddenly started glowing green, matching Cloud's.

Reno suddenly unfroze and staggered, shaking his head. "What…? Hooooly shit. EVERYBODY _RUN!_" He yelled and darted down the pathway towards the main doors, Yuffie not far behind him as she grabbed Sora and tugged him along.

"What's going on?" Sora yelled as the rest of the school swarmed after them, screaming loudly.

"You don't want to be around when Cloud activates his Mako," Yuffie yelled back in his ear and they stopped just as there was a loud explosion and the walls and ceiling released a rain of stone dust. Looking back while the rest of the students swarmed out around them, Sora and Yuffie found Zack and Cloud in a stalemate, swords crossed while the air around them rippled with power.

Leon had jumped in front of Harry, swiping through a chunk of stone that came flying at them. It split and landed harmlessly behind them.

As Cloud and Zack traded blows, Leon watched and backed the Auror back towards the main doors, watching the battle raging, trying think of a solution. When he caught sight of the brunette keyblade wielder, he got an idea. "Sora, you've fought Cloud before, haven't you?"

"And won? Maybe…" Sora looked a little wary.

"Good. I want you to stop Zack. I'll tackle Cloud. If they keep going like this," another tremor shook the room, "we'll end up with a ruined room."

"Alright," Sora nodded in agreement, summoning the keyblade. It appeared in his hand, black and creatively designed. He twisted a few times and quickly shed his robes, determining that they were just going to get in the way.

Leon took the keyblade in curiously for the barest moment. He found the fact that the keyblade changed forms depending on its keychain fascinating. He hadn't seen this one.

"You can't be serious," Harry said as he threw his hands up to protect his face from another shockwave as he stumbled back a step. "He's a student! What can Sora do?"

"He's more than a kid," Leon replied and grabbed the keyblader's arm, dragging him forward. "Come on." They made a run for the two swordsmen, Sora heading for Zack while Leon ran for Cloud, gunblade held ready just in case he needed to block to avoid getting cleaved in half.

Just as the two ex-SOLDIER made to go for each other again, both brunette's leapt in between them, Sora clashing blades with Zack and pushing hard to force him into a stalemate, while Leon blocked Cloud's sword from coming down on himself and Sora before tackling his lover, sending them both crashing to the ground, swords being flung to the side with a loud crash.

As the two Restoration Committee members struggled on the ground, Leon trying to pin the blond, Zack and Sora, who had stopped fighting, watched in amusement as Cloud snapped and snarled angrily, his sword lying forgotten.

By the time Leon managed to pin the blond in a way that he couldn't get up, they were both breathing heavily, Leon sitting on his lovers lower back, knees pinning Cloud's arms to his sides while he pushed his palms down on the SOLDIER's shoulders.

"Calm down," Leon murmured in the blonde's ear. "You're going to end up killing someone."

Cloud closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, and when he opened his eyes again, the green light had faded, leaving them blue and clear with only their usual faint streaks of green.

Getting up slowly, Leon held out a hand for his boyfriend to grip. Cloud did so and Leon pulled him up. Cloud gave him a small embarrassed smile and quickly let go, turning to pick his sword up before turning to Zack and holding a hand out.

Zack chuckled nervously and handed the sword piece back over. "You know we were only joking, didn't you Spike?"

"I know," Cloud murmured with a smile as he put his Buster sword back together, slinging it back into its carry sling on his back. "But it's been a while since I've fought with another SOLDIER. It brought back memories."

"Good ones I hope," Zack laughed as he slung an arm around his best friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, I think so," Cloud agreed with a smile as he blushed a little and hugged his friend back. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Same here Spike. Now, are you going to introduce me to your very cute friend?"

Leon blushed uncomfortably and Sora grinned wickedly.

"Zack, this is Leon," Cloud introduced, also grinning. "Leon, this is Zack, my best friend from when we were in SOLDIER. I've told you about him a few times."

"I remember," Leon replied and held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Zack shook it. "It's good to meet you too. I'm glad Cloudster's got someone he can rely on."

Leon nodded.

"You know, I would have thought scar face would have been more jealous," Reno was heard from the doorway. They all turned to find him leaning in the doorway, arms crossed and talking to a laughing Yuffie and a smirking Riku.

Leon and Cloud both sighed while Zack laughed, slinging a familiar arm around the blonde's neck again. "Come on you lot, let's finish eating. I'm starved."

"It's your fault in the first place," Cloud grumbled, allowing himself to be led to the staff table, snagging Leon's hand as he was dragged away.

The others took that as a sign that they could and the staff and students began to warily creep back into the Great Hall.

Minerva fixed Harry with an unimpressed look, and he flinched, giving her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I honestly had no idea they would do this. I'll talk to them both and make sure the proper actions are taken."

She sighed and shook her head, looking back at Cloud, Leon and Zack all settling back at the staff table, Zack already having Cloud laughing about something and Leon smiling slightly. Reno quickly joined them and Cloud did introductions. They both shook hands, Reno sitting in his seat again as he joined the conversation with a smirk and a cocky comment. "They're certainly an interesting bunch."

Sora was fiddling with his key charms that night before bed. Albus watched him curiously, as did most of the dorm when Sora unclipped one that looked like a ghost and put them on the bed.

"What are they for?" Albus asked curiously as he put the book away and crept over to his friend's bed to check out the charms.

"The keyblade," Sora replied as he summoned the keyblade, ignoring the squawks of surprise from his other dorm mates, and flipped the weapon around, changing the keychain. It grew a little misty when the black crown shaped keychain came off it, and when the ghost keychain was clipped on, Albus blinked in surprise as the Keyblade flashed and it's shape went from looking like a sharp looking key to a twisty one with candy cane colouring and a skeleton face.

"Whoa…"

Sora looked at the keyblade contemplatively before placing it beside him on the bed and flicking through the bundle of chains again. "Hmm…"

"Where did you get them all?" Hugo asked curiously as he crept over as well, most of the other boys taking that as the signal that they could approach as well.

Sora blinked and looked down at the bundle. "From various worlds."

"Which ones are your favourite?" Peter, a sandy blond haired boy asked curiously.

Sora smiled and picked out Hero's Crest, Bond of Flame, Oathkeeper, and Ultima. "This one, this one, and…. This one."

"How'd you get them?" Hugo asked curiously as he crawled onto Sora's bed to peer over his shoulder better.

"From friends, and some enemies," Sora replied with a shrug. "A couple just appeared. Others I made."

"Weird…"

"Does a normal keychain change the shape of the keyblade?" Albus asked curiously. "Or does it have to be something keyblade related?"

"Mmm…. Not sure," Sora replied thoughtfully. "I guess it would work the same way though with normal key chains. I'm not sure how effective they would be in a fight though."

"Why would you need to fight?" George, a dark haired boy asked curiously, glancing at the spikey haired teen.

Sora shrugged and unclipped the Zero shaped keychain off the keyblade, and replaced it with Ultima. "Lots of reasons." The keyblade flashed into the long colourful and delicate shape of his most powerful keyblade – the one he'd used to bring down Xemnas.

Nodding in satisfaction, he closed his eyes and summoned the second keyblade he owned, placing Ultima to the side.

"Whoa…."

The awe was ignored as Sora unclipped Oathkeeper and put Two Across on. He looked at it thoughtfully afterwards. Two across had the checker pattern he'd learnt Roxas favoured when he saw that photo from Twilight Town. Maybe that was why this particular keyblade appealed to him?

Sighing, he dismissed both the keyblades and placed the chains back onto their loop and placed them in his trunk.

"Where do they go?" Albus asked curiously.

Sora blinked curiously and sat back, looking at his friend in confusion. "Where does what go?"

"The keyblades, when they vanish? Where do they come from?"

The brunette smiled and closed the lid of his trunk. "They live in my heart. I just summon them when I need them."

That statement was met with silence.

"What?" Sora asked, blinking in confusion at his dorm mates. "It makes perfect sense."

"It makes no sense," Hugo retorted.

"It does too!"

"No, it doesn't," Hugo argued, frowning.

"It does!" Sora protested loudly, frowning.

"Alright, Hugo, enough," Albus interjected loudly with a sigh. "Come on, we both know Sora's strange. He could rival Aunty Luna."

Hugo narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. "Nah, he couldn't. Aunty Luna is verging on insane. Sora's just strange."

Sora pouted and crossed his arms. "I'm not strange."

"You are," Came the dorms reply, right before the door was heard swinging open. They all quickly scattered as the Gryffindor prefect stepped into the room, sunshine blond hair flashing in the lamplight and robes swishing around his legs.

"Come on, time for bed you lot. It's getting late."

There were grumbles and whines but they all complied, beginning to get changed or crawling into bed.

Sora yawned and crawled under his covers. Definitely time for sleep. Pulling the covers up to his chin, Sora yawned again and listened to the people around him getting ready for bed, talking quietly. He rolled over and smiled. The scuffle reminded him of the times he travelled with Donald and Goofy while looking for Riku and Kairi. It was a good noise.

He drifted right off.

Tbc~

* * *

><p>Well, I hope you're all enjoying this so far. I know I'm enjoying writing it. ^_^ The next couple of chapters have been so much fun to write (still am writing them and getting a good laugh out of them) so when I get them up I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I have. *grins* To help me post faster though, reviews are always good. :p I seem to get inspired by reading all your comments, and thanks to everyone that's reviewed so far. You're all awesome!<p>

Love ya all!

Vex


	12. I Swear to Drunk!

_Sora yawned and crawled under his covers. Definitely time for sleep. Pulling the covers up to his chin, Sora yawned again and listened to the people around him getting ready for bed, talking quietly. He rolled over and smiled. The scuffle reminded him of the times he travelled with Donald and Goofy while looking for Riku and Kairi. It was a good noise. _

_He drifted right off. _

Chapter 12 – I swear to drunk!

Cloud picked up the small box that they'd been using to communicate with those back in Radiant Garden and pressed the small call button on the side, sinking down on the bed as he waited for someone to pick up.

His thoughts were racing.

Zack was alive. He'd come back. He had his best friend back. Cloud was so relieved he could have fallen over there and then, and if he was told he was never to let the man out of his sight again if he wanted to keep him, he would have happily done it. Cloud had prayed to Shiva and Hyne when he found out Aerith was back that they had brought Zack back to life as well. It looked like his prayers had been answered.

The box crackled to life, drawing his attention back to it. "_Hello?" _

"Aerith, is that you?" Cloud asked, blinking in surprise.

"_Cloud?"_

"Yeah."

"_How are you? How is everyone? We got worried because we hadn't heard anything from you." _

"We're all fine. We're at a school called Hogwarts. It's a school for Witches and Wizards, and it's crazier than Merlin's place."

"_Really?"_ Came the amused answer.

"Yeah. It's a large stone castle, everyone runs around with sticks, and the portraits all move."

"_It sounds fascinating," _came the answering giggle.

"It's certainly interesting," Cloud answered, glancing at the door. "Aerith, has Cid left yet?"

"_No, not yet. He's leaving first thing in the morning. Why?" _

Cloud sighed in relief. "Could you get Tifa to put Zack's sword in the ship before Cid leaves?"

There was silence from the other end, and it lasted for a good thirty seconds.

"Aerith?" Cloud ventured curiously, wondering if the box had died.

"_Uh… sorry. Zack's sword you said?" _

"Yeah."

"_Can I ask why?" _she asked quietly. _"Cloud, if it's because you feel like you need him around, we talked about this…" _

"No, it's not Aer." Cloud felt a little nervous, using the nickname he hadn't called her since she'd died. "Please, just…."

"_Alright_," came the reluctant answer. _"But you're going to have to let him go sometime Cloud." _

"No, I'm not," Cloud replied with a weak chuckle. The door opened and he glanced at it, nodding a greeting to Leon, who took one look at him and walked over and sat down beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He was pulled into a loose hug, the brunette's head resting on his shoulder.

Cloud leant into the hug, changing the box to his other hand so he could wrap his other hand around Leon's head comfortably.

"_Cloud, what aren't you telling me…?" _Aerith asked quietly. There was silence for a few seconds before the box crackled again, the voice filled with hope and disbelief. _"You found Zack… didn't you?" _

"Yeah," the blond replied reluctantly. "We did."

There was silence on the other end, and Cloud waited. No doubt this news was hitting his friend harder than it hit him. Heck, he was still having trouble believing it.

Eventually, the box crackled to life again. _"Cloud?" _

"I'm here."

"_Is…. Is he….?" _Even over the static, Cloud could tell Aerith was on the verge of tears, and he swallowed down his own, a telltale lump developing in his own throat.

"He's fine," Cloud replied thickly. "Both he and Reno."

"_I'll let Cid know," _Aerith said back, her voice filled with emotion that made Cloud's eyes burn with held back tears. Hyne, he felt horrible, making her cry.

"Thanks Aerith. I'm sorry."

"_Don't be," _she said back with an audible sob. _"Thank you Cloud." _

"Bye," he said softly, putting the box down on the bed beside him, turning his head so it was pressed into Leon's hair, his body trembling as it fought back the tears.

Leon didn't say anything. He just sat there and waited.

Eventually, Cloud pressed a kiss to the spot he was resting against and sat up. Leon let him go, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"I'm alright," Cloud replied with a soft smile as he stood, stretching.

Leon didn't say anything, just sitting there, watching him.

Cloud blinked and met the grey eyes curiously. "What's wrong?"

The brunette opened his mouth a couple of times, obviously not sure how to say what he wanted to. He sighed and looked away, staring at the end of the bed.

Cloud just waited. He had a hunch that he knew what this was about, but he waited anyway.

Leon cleared his throat, still staring at the end of the bed, even as his cheeks flamed pink. "About Zack," he began after taking a deep breath. "Does this… change anything between us?"

Cloud blinked a couple of times, shocked at the question. Right general direction. Wrong question. "No! Of course not." He walked over and sat down, placing his hand on the brunette's, making him look at him. "Leon, Zack is my best friend. He's practically family, and even if there was something going on between me and Zack, he's as straight as a fucking training post."

This drew an amused smile from his lover as blue eyes met grey.

"Trust me, if there was ever anything between me and Zack, it's long gone. Okay?" he asked, searching the eyes for understanding.

Leon nodded, taking another steadying breath.

Cloud pressed his forehead to the brunette's, closing his eyes and waiting for the man to calm down.

A hand on his cheek and a brush of lips against his was the signal, and he opened his eyes, staring straight into stormy grey ones. "Thanks…"

Cloud nodded and brushed his lips against his lovers in a chaste kiss before standing up again. "Come on. Zack and Reno want to take us drinking. I'm going to need you to keep my chastity."

Leon snorted in amusement and smirked. "What chastity?"

"Okay, yeah, it's pretty much non-existent at the moment," Cloud replied, a mischievous smile on his face as his blue eyes shone with mirth. "Come on. Odds are I'll end up strapped to something with no clothes on and some sort of monster running around while I'm being used as bait if you don't come."

"Do I want to know?" Leon asked curiously, also standing up.

"No, not really," Cloud replied with a grimace. "It's either that, or Reno finds some manic stripper who's actually a serial killer. Wouldn't be the first time."

Leon barked out a laugh and shook his head, standing up as well. He placed his gunblade against the wall next to Cloud's sword and watched as Cloud divulged himself of his extra armor and sword sling.

Once they were both ready, the two of them made their way to the Entrance Hall and met up with the two Auror's.

"Finally! All ready?" Reno asked as soon as they appeared.

"Yeah," Cloud replied with a smile.

Zack frowned and stepped forward, catching the blonde's chin in his fingers and staring scrutinizing at his friend's face. His eyes flicked to Leon angrily. "Cloud, why were you crying?"

Cloud blinked in surprise before he caught on and reached up to grab his friend's hand. "Oh, no, it wasn't Leon. I was talking to someone back home." He gripped the pale hand reassuringly. "I'm fine."

Zack glared distrustfully at Leon before looking back at Cloud again. "Alright, if you're sure."

"I'm fine," Cloud replied with a smile, linking his fingers with his friend's. "Don't worry. If Leon ever did anything to hurt me I'd send him through about five walls. He knows it too."

Leon snorted and nodded, crossing his arms. "I've seen him do it, so I know he's not joking."

Reno blinked before looking warily at Cloud. "Do I want to know why someone incited your protective streak?"

"Yuffie's boyfriend was being an arse," Cloud replied with a nonchalant shrug as he began heading towards the doors. "Shall we?"

Reno laughed and shook his head, pushing off the wall. "Yeah, lets go get a drink. I've been dying for one all day!"

"You're always dying for a drink," Zack bit back as he rolled his eyes. "It's a wonder the pubs in London don't run out of liquor with the way you drink."

"Still an alcoholic then?" Cloud asked in amusement as he glanced at his red headed friend who fell into step beside him, Leon on the other side.

"You know it!"

There was a splutter of indignation behind them from Zack. "Hey, wait up!"

"Hurry up Zack!" Cloud called over his shoulder. "Or we'll leave you behind." He laughed as he was tackled from behind and dragged into a headlock, wincing as Zack scrubbed at his head, making his hair stand up on end more than it already was. "Ow! Okay! Mercy! Mercy!" he cried, laughing at the same time, and Zack let him up, giving a cheerful laugh and a cheeky grin.

Reno snorted and pushed the doors of the Entrance Hall open, the outside atmosphere hitting them all with a blast of icy air. He wrapped his robes around him tighter and Leon shrugged into his jacket more, watching his breath fog for a few seconds.

"It gets dark early here, huh?" Cloud commented as he looked up at the sky, taking in the fact that they couldn't see the stars.

"Yeah, especially at this time of year," Zack replied with a shrug as he slipped his hands into his pockets, glancing at the brunette who was walking beside his best friend. He didn't say anything though and turned his attention back towards the main gates of Hogwarts. "We've got a few months until Christmas, but it'll get there quickly enough."

"They celebrate Christmas here?" Cloud asked curiously.

"And Halloween," Reno replied.

Cloud grinned and shot a look at his lover. "Sora will be happy."

Leon shook his head with a smirk. "Correction, he will be thrilled."

"And impossible," Cloud added with a snort of laughter.

"Sora?" Zack asked curiously, before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, you mean the spikey haired boy?"

Leon nodded, stumbling a bit in the darkness and on a piece of uneven ground.

Cloud shot him a questioning look, and he nodded to show he was okay.

"Why Sora?" Reno asked curiously.

"Sora has been to both Halloween Town and Christmas Town," Cloud replied with a shake of his head. "He was absolutely insistent that we go there last year for both."

"The festivities were amazing," Leon added as he shrugged a bit, feeling the cold beginning to seep through his jacket. "Even if the food in Halloween Town was…. Questionable."

"No doubt he will try to bring the same cheer and enthusiasm here," Cloud mumbled with a cringe.

Leon barked in laughter and shot his lover an amused look. He knew Cloud could see it, even if he could hardly see three steps in front of himself.

And feeling his neck prick, he knew his partner was glaring at him, blue eyes narrowed in the darkness, and just barely able to be made out.

Zack laughed as well, and Leon flushed, obviously, having forgotten that Zack's eyesight was just as good as Cloud's in the dark. He stumbled again, and Cloud shot a hand out to grab him with, tugging him back and entwining his fingers with the brunette's.

Cloud let out a small gasp and pulled Leon closer, frowning. "Jeeze you're cold."

"I'm alright," Leon replied as he shrugged again, trying to warm himself up a bit. His hands were feeling pretty numb at the moment and the cold had seeped through his clothes and was digging its way insistently into his bones. He'd stupidly left his gloves up at the Castle as well, thinking that if he wasn't taking his gunblade, he wouldn't need the gloves.

"How long until we get to where we're going?" Cloud asked Zack and Reno.

Zack looked at Leon contemplatively and pursed his lips. "Another twenty minutes, at least. Don't you guys have warmer clothes?"

"Not yet," Cloud replied as he shook his head.

Reno sighed and darted in front of Leon, grabbing his hand. "Here."

Leon jerked and resisted the urge to yank his hand back as a sharp tingling shot up his arm and settled over his body, warmth quickly covering him from head to toe.

Reno let go of his hand and Leon pulled his hand back to rub it, staring at the red head in surprise, and uncertainty.

"What was that?" The brunette asked quietly.

"A warming charm. Let me know when it starts to wear off. Let's go." Turning, the red head began heading for town again.

Zack followed while Cloud and Leon paused, Leon flexing his fingers a few times to stop the tingling. It felt odd.

"So, Leon," Zack began again when they caught up, his voice laced with mischief. "Where did you meet Spike?"

Leon and Cloud exchanged looks, Leon gripping Cloud's hand again to stop himself from stumbling in the dark.

"I'm pretty sure it was Radiant Garden," Leon replied thoughtfully, trying to think back.

"Wasn't it the Coliseum?" Cloud asked curiously, also trying to think back.

"No, back before it was overrun by the heartless. Of course, it was only in passing. You were talking to Aerith. I think she was trying to stop you from leaving, or something."

"Really?" Cloud blinked, frowning thoughtfully.

"Yes. Although I think we officially met at the Coliseum during the games. Yuffie practically screamed my ear off when she spotted you being carted out of there by Hercules." Leon smirked, knowing that Cloud absolutely hated the humiliation that came with the fact that he couldn't defend himself against the three-headed dog Cerberus. "We had to take you back to Traverse Town with us after that. She refused to let you out of her sight while you were unconscious. She even convinced me that we had to take turns watching you to make sure you wouldn't run away. She let up a bit once we got you on the gummi ship though."

Cloud blushed when Zack and Reno laughed.

Knowing he was being glared at, Leon smirked and looked back at Zack and Reno. "So, how did you and Cloud meet? I never heard the fine details."

"Hmm…" Zack hummed, looking up at the overcast sky while he thought. "We had a mission together and the helicopter crashed. Cloud and I got talking as we walked through the snow-covered alps towards a town to check out some rumors about another co-worker of ours. We had an instant connection because of the fact that we were both country boys. Tseng I think just got fed up with us laughing." Zack grinned at Cloud, who smiled back, the dark haired SOLDIER's cheerfulness contagious.

"I think he got fed up with telling us to wait all the time," Cloud corrected with a grin.

Reno snorted. "That sounds like Tseng." He sighed. "I hate to say it, but I miss the dude. He was a prude, and when he got into a mood you pretty much had to tread on ice. He was fun to tease though. The guy primped in front of the mirror like a fucking girl, especially when he had to go and see Rufus. The mirror time tripled after he got his promotion, I swear."

"That does sound like Tseng," Zack replied with a laugh.

Leon sighed in relief as they stepped into The Three Broomsticks, genuine warmth washing over him immediately.

Zack led them over to an empty table with four chairs and sat down, draping his cloak over the back of his chair, Reno doing the same.

"What do you guys want?" Reno asked as he angled himself towards the bar, where a greying frizzy haired witch was serving customers while flicking her wand at a couple of empty glasses on the bench, which carried themselves over to the sink to wash themselves, and then put themselves back on the shelf to be reused.

Cloud blinked in surprise at the show of magic while Leon shrugged. "Um… no idea. What do they have?"

"Oi, just get four bottles of firewhisky, and a glass for Leon." Zack smirked as he glanced at the brunette, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Got in," Reno answered before heading for the bar, raising a hand to get the witch's attention.

Zack sat back and relaxed, speaking loudly over the din of the tavern. "That's Madam Rosmerta. She owns the best tavern in town, so if you ever need to find some answers, or need advice, feel free to talk to her. She's happy to talk to the drunk and the sober. She's also been doing this for years, so she has the best advice. I've asked her a thing or two myself over the years."

Leon nodded while Cloud frowned.

"How long have you been here?"

Zack crossed his arms and tapped his fingers thoughtfully. "Um…. Nearly five or six years now? Reno's the same. We actually entered Auror training at the same time." The dark haired SOLDIER grinned. "Reno fainted spectacularly when he first saw me. It was during our induction to the Auror training section on the first day. Took one look at me while the Minister of Magic was making a speech, swore loudly, and fainted off the stage, which was a good two-meter drop. He came to, saw me and screamed loudly and almost shit his pants."

"To be fair, it isn't every day you see the dead walking around like nothing happened," Reno argued as he dumped four bottles of grog on the table and sat down, pushing the bottle with the glass on it towards Leon. "We have a tab by the way. Feel free to order whatever. Zack and I'll split the cost at the end of the night."

Leon blinked in surprise, looking at the bottle warily as Cloud took to top off his without a second thought and started drinking from the bottle, the others copying him.

Cloud started coughing though, immediately putting the bottle down on the table as he sucked in a couple of breaths. "Holy Hyne, that's some good alcohol."

"There's a reason it's called firewhisky," Reno replied with a grin. "Come on Leon, have a drink with us." Without waiting for permission, Reno took the top of Leon's bottle and poured the whisky into the glass for him, shoving the glass towards him.

"Um…. I don't drink," Leon replied uncertainly.

"Leon, just try it," Cloud urged quietly as he placed a hand on the brunette's leg, patting it encouragingly, and leaned in to speak quietly into his ear. "It'll keep them happy and they won't try to spike anything."

Sighing, Leon nodded and picked the glass up, taking a good mouthful of the stuff and swallowing, coughing as the alcohol burned its way down his throat and into his stomach. He could almost feel the alcohol beginning to burn away the food he just ate. His eyes watering, Leon sucked in a few breaths and kept his eyes closed, waiting for the burning to subside. "Wow…"

"Good stuff, ain't it?" Reno replied as he gulped down another mouthful, having already gone through almost a quarter of the bottle already, Zack not far behind him.

Cloud smiled encouragingly and drank another mouthful of his firewhisky, this time managing to avoid going into a coughing fit.

Unable to help himself, Leon had another mouthful, this time smaller, and breathed his way through the burn.

"To being together again!" Zack toasted suddenly, and Reno laughed and clinked his bottle to Zack's, Cloud following with a grin, smiling at Leon when he didn't move.

"You're meant to join in the toast," Cloud urged him quietly in amusement.

Feeling slightly awkward, Leon toasted his glass, taking another small mouthful when everyone tossed their heads back and downed a few mouthfuls of the poison.

By this time, he'd finished half the glass, and his head was already beginning to feel a little fuzzy. Blaming the fact that he wasn't used to the alcohol, and the fact that he rarely drank, he decided to lay off for a while, or get some water. "I'll be back in a minute," Leon murmured to Cloud, who nodded, looking at him in concern.

"You okay?"

Nodding, he headed for the bar, footsteps a little unsteady and he leaned on the bare, trying not to stagger sideways while waiting for the tavern keeper.

"Hey, he's cute," Zack suddenly said to Cloud with a grin as he nudged his friend in the upper arm. "Good catch. He seems like a decent guy too. Nice body and a sexy ass."

Cloud tore his eyes off Leon and glared at his best friend. "I thought you were straight! And hands off, he's mine."

"Spike, chill, I'm just observing. I am straight, but it doesn't mean I can't look." Zack winked and downed another mouthful of his firewhisky, almost half the bottle gone.

Cloud stumbled for words, his eye twitching briefly, before his face planted into his palm with a huff. "There are so many things wrong with that sentence that I don't even know where to begin."

Zack laughed and leaned forward, placing the bottle on the table. "Seriously though, he's good for you. From what I've seen so far, I approve." Lifting the bottle, he toasted the blond. "To your happiness." Downing another couple of mouthfuls, Zack grinned and placed the nearly empty bottle down on the table.

"Same here," Reno added with his own grin and looked at Zack, his own bottle empty. "You up for another?"

"Sure," Zack agreed and quickly finished the bottle, giving it to the red head. He looked at Cloud. "Want a new one?"

"Nah, I'm right for the moment," Cloud replied and held up his bottle, which was still three-quarters full. His gaze drifted to Leon worriedly, his teeth worrying his lower lip as he took in how heavily Leon was leaning against the bar, talking to Madame Rosmerta, who was smiling and replying to an obviously asked question.

"Is he a light weight?" Zack asked curiously, following Cloud's gaze.

"Not normally," Cloud replied with a sigh. "But he hasn't drunk anything for a while, and this stuff is more potent than what he's used to. I'm worried it's affecting him more than usual."

Zack looked at his best friend, taking in the worried look on his face, his mind ticking. "What's he like drunk?"

Cloud blinked and frowned. "I don't know. I've never seen him drunk. Slightly tipsy is probably the worst I've seen him."

"What? Really?" Zack blinked in surprise.

"Really. He never lets himself go that far. He might have a beer or something to relax a bit after an emotionally traumatic day, but that's really rare. Usually if he's tired he'll crash on the couch or take a bath. It depends on what mood he's in and how much work he has. I can't remember the number of times I've dragged him to bed, woken up at an ungodly time the next morning and found him in the study, working on plans or something else. I've sort of given up trying to get him back to bed, unless it's really cold or something."

"What does he do?" Zack asked curiously. "I'm assuming he's a fighter, considering the way he handed that gunblade earlier."

Cloud nodded. "Leon is the head of the Restoration Committee, and the unofficial head of Radiant Garden. We sort of all just look up to him when we need guidance. He hates it, but he does it, because he feels it's his duty. We all try and help out where we can though, to take some of the pressure off."

The dark haired SOLDIER hummed in response, his mind turning over the idea in his head. He'd have to talk it over with Reno. "Hey, can you wait here a sec and mind the table?"

Nodding, Cloud turned to look at his lover again, not paying attention to his friend.

Zack headed straight over to Reno, tapping him on the shoulder and sliding in beside him at the bar. "We need to get Leon drunk," he said without preamble.

Reno blinked and looked at him warily. "Okay? I'm all for it, but why?"

"Because the guy needs to loosen up for a night, and Cloud's never seen him drunk."

Reno blinked. "Seriously? What are we waiting for then?"

tbc~

* * *

><p>I AM SO SO SORRY! I've been meaning to post this chapter for about 2 weeks, nearly 3 now I suppose, but it just never happened, what with work, life, family stuff, and the internet playing up! . It almost didn't get posted tonight because the internet died, again. *sighs* Stupid wifi...<p>

Anyway, I shall get the next chapter up over the weekend hopefully. :) It's been fun to write. *cackles and rubs hands together evilly* Chapter 14 even more so, provided I can stop all distractions long enough to get into the right zone to write it. 3

Let me know what you think!

Thanks everyone!

~Vex~


	13. I Swear to Drunk! Part 2

_Zack headed straight over to Reno, tapping him on the shoulder and sliding in beside him at the bar. "We need to get Leon drunk," he said without preamble. _

_Reno blinked and looked at him warily. "Okay? I'm all for it, but why?"_

"_Because the guy needs to loosen up for a night, and Cloud's never seen him drunk." _

_Reno blinked. "Seriously? What are we waiting for then?" _

Chapter 13 – I swear to drunk part 2

Zack grinned. "My thoughts exactly. But first, I need to go to the bathroom."

Reno snorted in amusement as Zack darted off towards the men's room.

"Don't start without me!" Zack yelled over his shoulder before disappearing into the toilet.

"Another bottle?" Madam Rosmerta asked as she walked over to him.

"Another two please," Reno corrected.

Rosmerta tsked as she fetched the requested bottles. "Don't you boys overdo it tonight. It never fails to surprise me how much you two can drink."

"Hey, we're not lightweights, and that bottle barely even scratched the surface," Reno replied with a laugh, taking the offered bottles of firewhisky. "Besides, it's not us you have to worry about."

She sent him a curious look before shaking her head. "Be off with you now. I can tell it's going to be a good night for me. It usually is when you two come in."

"Yes ma'am," Reno replied with a mock salute with a bottle and a grin before heading back to the table, where Leon was sitting down, a mug of butterbeer and a glass of water in front of him.

_Hmmm…. This might be easier than we thought it was going to be_, Reno thought as he sat down, taking in how tipsy the brunette was already. His cheeks were flushed pink, but he was still alert, just blinking a little more than normal. A good sign he was susceptible to spiking.

"You okay?" Reno asked Leon curiously, wondering what he'd say.

Leon nodded and downed some of his butterbeer.

"Okay, back," Zack announced as he slipped into the chair again. He swiped up a bottle. "Thanks Reno."

Nodding, Reno grinned and took another swig of his own bottle.

Cloud looked at Leon curiously and leaned over, placing his hand on his boyfriends, getting his attention immediately. "Are you alright? You're looking a bit flushed."

Leon nodded and looked directly at Cloud with a small smile. "The alcohol's just gone to my head. I'm alright."

Cloud nodded and backed up a bit.

"You know, I haven't seen you two kiss yet," Zack suddenly announced, looking contemplative as he waved his bottle around.

Cloud and Leon both blinked at him in surprise.

"I mean, you are together and all. I'm just saying, there's an open invitation there. We won't care whether you do or not."

Rolling his eyes, Cloud leaned in to kiss the brunette, closing his eyes as he ran his hand through Leon's hair, letting it rest against the nape of his neck, tilting his head and moving his lips against his lovers.

Leon, a little startled, closed his eyes and kissed back, his hand coming to rest on Cloud's shoulder.

When Cloud pulled away, face flushed and a little breathless, he stared at Zack and scowled. "Happy now?"

Zack smiled brightly and nodded. "Yup! That was pretty hot, so feel free to do that whenever I'm around." He winked, causing Cloud to roll his eyes.

"Idiot…."

Leon took a big mouthful of his butterbeer.

Reno winked at Zack, who grinned back.

"So, Cloud, how long are you in town?" Zack asked, suddenly starting up a conversation with the blond.

"Soo…" Reno began, scooting closer to Leon, who blinked at the red head. "How's Cloud in the sack? I've seen him in action a couple of times, heard he's an amazing lay and extremely responsive, but never had the privilege of hearing all the details." The smirk the red head was sporting was positively evil. "Prove my fantasies true?"

Leon blushed bright red and turned to drink his butterbeer, looking down at the table as he shifted uncomfortably and wrapped his free arm around himself. "There's nothing to say, really…"

"Oh, come on, that's just being stingy," Reno grumbled while moving closer, placing his hand on the seat next to where Leon's leg was.

Leon shifted away and tried not to let the redhead's closeness affect him. It was extremely uncomfortable being hit on by someone other than Cloud, even if it was unintentional.

Sighing, Reno sat back and drained the rest of his bottle, timing it perfectly for when Leon finished his butterbeer. "Hey, you want another one?"

Leon blinked and nodded, handing over the mug. "Thanks."

"Hey, you guys want anything?" Reno asked, leaning over Leon to tap the table between the two ex-SOLDIER's to get their attention.

"Nah, we're good," Zack replied with a grin as he waved his bottle.

Nodding, Reno headed to the bar and placed the bottle and mug on the bar. "Hey, Rosmerta," he began, getting her attention.

She smiled and shook her head. "Done already? Another bottle?"

"Yeah, and another butterbeer if that's okay? Can you please also make it two-thirds butterbeer and one-third cider? Whatever you've got that's strongest if that's okay? Stick a dash of vodka in it if you will as well please?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile. Turning to mix the requested drink, she waited for it to froth and fetched another bottle.

"Blimey, isn't that your second bottle or something?" the man beside him asked in surprise as the bottle was handed over.

"Third," Reno corrected with a grin, "and still going strong."

"And you can still stand upright?"

"Yup! I'm not a lightweight. I worked hard to get to this stage, and I refuse to back out of it now."

The man blinked in surprise before shaking his head and smiling.

"Here you go Reno," Rosmerta announced as she placed the requested drink on the bar in front of him. "Take it easy."

"Thanks Darlin'," Reno replied with a wink and walked back over to the table, placing it down in front of Leon and then sitting down beside him. "Here ya go."

Leon nodded his thanks and wrapped his hands around the warm drink. His head was still kind of fuzzy.

"So," Reno began slyly. "You going to tell me about those details?"

Leon twitched and looked directly at the redhead. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because they're personal."

"Fine," Reno grumbled as he cracked his bottle and downed a few mouthfuls. "Spoil all my fun."

Sighing, Leon took a sip of his butterbeer and blinked in surprise. "Hey, this tastes almost…. apple-ish."

"Really?" Reno asked, feigning surprise. "Hmm. I've had a pear one, a potato one, a peach one, an orange one, and a banana one, but never had an apple one. They sometimes change flavours depending on what packet it's mixed with. Rosmerta has a random bucket of flavours. That one must have fallen into the wrong bucket."

At Leon's uncertain look, Reno sighed.

"It tastes okay, yes?"

Leon nodded.

"Good. Then drink it. Don't worry, it's still non-alcoholic." _Sort of..._

Nodding, Leon drank it, licking his lips afterwards to try and clean the froth mustache up.

Cloud blinked and stared as he caught sight of Leon, the yellow froth covering his top lip in patches. "Leon… you missed a spot."

Leon blinked, looking at Cloud in confusion. "What do you mean? I cleaned up." He pouted a little and Cloud's lips twitched in a smile.

"Here, I'll help you." Leaning forward, Cloud captured Leon's lips with his, licking up the froth while at the same time devouring that cute little pout that had appeared on his lovers lips. Slipping his tongue into the brunette's mouth, he had to hold back a moan when Leon moaned into his mouth, his arms coming up to circle the blonde's neck and shoulders as he leant back a bit.

Cloud leant forward, wrapping one arm around Leon to keep him upright, the other planting itself on the far edge of Leon's chair to stop them from toppling over onto the floor, or Reno. His tongue twined around Leon's and the brunette moaned loudly as Cloud brushed over a sensitive spot in his mouth. His tongue exploded with the flavour of the butterbeer that Leon had just had and he sighed happily, pulling back slowly and making sure Leon could keep himself upright before sitting back in his own chair.

Clearing his throat, he blushed at Zack's leer. "Sorry. You were saying?"

Zack just snorted in laughter. "You two are so hot together."

Cloud just rolled his eyes before glancing at Leon again with a frown. He was downing the rest of his butterbeer, Reno laughing and pouring him another glass of firewhisky and shoving it into his hand.

"Reno, I think he's had enough," Cloud decided, frowning in worry, taking in the glassy grey eyes and flushed skin his partner had – not to mention he was starting to sway while sitting still.

"Pfft! He's only had half a glass," Reno claimed with a wave of his hand. "He needs to grow some balls and have some real alcohol."

Leon scowled and tossed the drink back, downing the entire glass before going into a coughing fit and dropping the tumbler back on the table as he clutched at the wood, eyes closed and watering while his throat burnt and his stomach heated almost uncomfortably. "Do so have balls," he grumbled at Reno when he could breathe and sit up normally again.

"Really? I'd love to see them," Reno said as he held another glass of firewhisky out for Leon.

Looking determined, Leon took the glass, his hand a bit shaky and the liquid sloshed onto his hand a little. "I drink this and I show you my balls?"

"Yes Leon," Reno replied in amusement. "If you drink that I'll believe you have balls and are a real man."

Nodding, Leon quickly downed the entire glass of firewhisky, going into another coughing fit afterwards.

Cloud reached over and rubbed his lovers back, looking concerned. "Reno, that's enough. He's had enough to drink tonight."

Reno held his hands up in defeat, a familiar smirk dancing across his lips.

Eyes narrowing, Cloud glanced at Zack, whose blue eyes were filled with mischief, and a spark that he knew was all too familiar. His eyes drifted to Leon's bottle of firewhisky and his heart sank. Just over half of the bottle was gone, and he was sure that Leon hadn't drunk that much on purpose. He glared at his two friends, scooting closer to Leon who was starting to get a bit floppy and doe-eyed, his arm slipping around the brunette's waist to support him and hold him up. "How dare you two," he hissed angrily.

"Hey, it's us. What were you expecting? Honestly?" Reno asked with a grin as he shrugged. "Although, I have to admit. He's doing pretty well so far. That stuffs potent even to the best drinker."

"And you made him drink half the bottle? You're both idiots! He's not infused like us! This stuff could seriously poison him!"

"Pfft, relax will you? It's fine on a one off," Zack said as he leant back and downed another mouthful from his own bottle.

"Nothing had better happen to him," Cloud grumbled as he kissed the side of Leon's head.

Leon mumbled something unintelligent as his head dropped on Cloud's shoulder, his body going slack and a soft snore left his mouth, the breath ghosting across the blonde's collarbone.

"Aside from the fact that he'll wake up with a raging hangover, he'll be fine," Reno replied with a smug smile. "This world has these things called hangover potions to deal with nuisances like that, so just ask Madam Pomphry for one tomorrow morning. I'm sure she'll be happy to give it to you."

Cloud sighed and ran his hand through Leon's hair, trying to shake his passed out lover awake. "I hate you both."

"You'll thank us," Zack replied with a knowing smirk. "Anyway, we'd better get you guys back to the castle. He looks ready for bed."

"And whose fault do you think that is?" Cloud grumbled as he rubbed Leon's arm. "Leon…Leon come on, wake up. We've got to get back to the castle."

"But I don' wanna ride the pony," Leon whined in his sleep as he frowned, his bottom lip forming into a pout again.

Cloud blinked a couple of times in surprise, looking at Zack. "I didn't know he talked in his sleep."

Zack was struggling not to laugh, while Reno was already almost falling off his chair he was laughing so hard. "Apparently he does while drunk. I'll go and ask Madam Rosmerta if you can use her floo network to get back to the castle."

"Uh… thanks," Cloud replied distractedly as he shook Leon again. "Leon, come on. Wake up."

Leon groaned and shifted slightly, sitting up slowly and groaned as he clutched at his head, swaying sideways. "Everything's moving," he slurred. "Cloud, make it shtop…"

Cloud sighed in relief. "I will, I promise, but we need to get you back to the castle first."

Nodding, Leon allowed himself to be pulled upright and groaned as he raised a hand to clutch at his head. "Why am I dating a moogle?"

Blinking rapidly at the odd question, Cloud looked down at his boyfriend in alarm, while Reno just about crapped himself laughing. "Why are you what?"

"I dunno," Leon grumbled as he tried walking, almost falling and landing on the table as he walked straight into it.

"Okay," Cloud sighed as he adjusted his grip on his lover. "You are most definitely wasted."

"Mn not wasted," Leon denied as he looked up at Cloud with wide eyes and a big smile. "I'm in the prime of ma youth."

"Yes, you are," Cloud agreed with a sigh as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, he's awake. Good news, Madam Rosmerta agreed that you can use her floo," Zack announced with a grin when he saw Leon and Reno laughing loudly. "What did he say this time?"

Cloud blinked a couple of times, ignoring Leon's random giggling. "He wanted to know why he's dating a moogle, and what's a floo?"

"I'm datin' a moodle?" Leon slurred curiously. "But I thought I was datin' you."

"You are," Cloud replied patiently. "You're not dating a moogle."

"But you just said I was!"

"Shh, don't yell," Cloud hushed before focusing on a snickering Zack. "Alright, what's a flu?"

"It's a nasty, nasty thing that makes you feel all sorts of badness," Leon explained as he stood a little straighter and nodded decisively.

"Aside from that," Cloud replied with a roll of his eyes.

Zack just snorted in amusement. "Come on, I'll show you." Slipping Leon's other arm around his own shoulders, Zack helped Cloud get Leon over to the fireplace. "Okay, take a handful of that powder there," Zack instructed, pointing to the pot of green powder that was sitting beside the fireplace, "throw it in the fireplace, and say where you want to go, so Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and then when the flames turn green step into them quickly and you'll end up where you want to go."

"That's it?" Cloud asked suspiciously. "That seems a bit…. Dangerous, and too simple."

"It's perfectly safe," Zack replied with a bright smile. "Trust me."

"Trust you…" Cloud muttered with a cringe. "That is a very dangerous sentence coming from you, but trust you just this once I will." Taking a deep breath, Cloud shifted Leon, who was suspiciously quiet for the time being, and grabbed a handful of the green powder. Throwing it into the fire, he stated "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," and when the flames flared up and turned green, Cloud threw caution to the wind and stepped into the flames, gasping as he felt himself and Leon being dragged up and away into the swirling heat of the flames.

LINEBREAK! :D

In the Gryffindor Common Room, the occupants all jumped as the fire flared up suddenly, the flames licking the top of the fireplace.

"AXEL!" Sora, Riku, Demyx, Zexion and Yuffie all yelled in alarm.

Said redhead just threw his hands back in the universal 'don't shoot' gesture. "Hey, it wasn't me!"

"Nope, that was the floo," James announced, just a second before two bodies came flying out of the fireplace, tumbling and landing on the ground with a thump.

Sora blinked rapidly at James. "Fire's can get the flu?" He asked, looking at Axel.

Riku blinked and looked down at the two familiar men lying on the floor. "You guys okay?"

Cloud groaned and rubbed his head, hissing as he shifted Leon a bit to sit up. "I'm going to kill Zack."

"I'll take that as a yes," Riku decided, wincing as Leon face planted into the ground.

"What's wrong with Leon? Is he hurt?" Sora asked anxiously when the brunette didn't move.

"He's just pissed off his face," Cloud grumbled and rolled Leon onto his back.

Yuffie blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Leon's drunk? How did that happen?"

"Blame Reno and Zack," Cloud replied again with a sigh.

Yuffie blinked again. "Reno and Zack got Leon drunk? How did they manage that?"

"With great skill," the blond replied in frustration as he knelt down beside the brunette and hauled him upright.

Leon groaned and staggered, his knees giving out beneath him, and Cloud had to quickly wrap an arm around his torso to stop him from hitting the floor. "Let me go…"

"Leon, come on, let's get you off the floor and into bed, okay?" Cloud murmured.

Nodding, Leon managed to clumsily get his feet beneath him and pushed upright, with Cloud's help. Once he was upright though, he immediately groaned and sagged forward, making Cloud spread his legs further to stop them from both falling forwards. "The room's spinning. Cloud, make it stop," Leon breathed, his face going pale.

Blinking, Cloud dragged Leon over to the couch, Sora, Scorpius, Lily and Albus moving so Leon could be laid down.

Groaning again, Leon threw an arm over his eyes and didn't bother helping as Cloud moved his legs up onto the couch. Cloud breathed a soft sigh as he smoothed the brunette locks away from his lovers face.

"He doesn't look so good," Demyx commented as he peered down at Leon over Cloud's shoulder.

"Way to state the obvious Dem," Axel replied with a chuckle.

Sora sat down on the arm of Riku's chair, Lily stealing the seat Demyx had just vacated.

Cloud stood, intending to head up to the hospital wing and see if Madam Pomphry had anything to help, when his wrist was caught. Turning, he looked down at Leon, who was staring up at him with big eyes, which looked more than a little tired.

"Stay? Please?" Leon murmured, keeping his gaze locked with Cloud's.

Cloud hesitated briefly, but felt himself give in the longer he looked at Leon's big, pale blue eyes.

Seeing Cloud nod once, Leon smiled and closed his eyes, his hand dropping from the blonde's wrist.

Axel snorted in amusement and his shoulders shook as he fought to keep himself from laughing out loud. Riku had an amused smirk on his face as well.

"What?" Cloud asked, focusing on the two younger men as he sat down under Leon's head, having moved the brunette so Leon's head lay on his lap.

"Nothing," Riku replied in amusement, at the same time that Axel coughed out "whipped."

Cloud's eyes narrowed on them dangerously before lowering to Leon as he shifted, rolling slightly and half wrapping an arm around the blonde's hips, lips parted and eyes only slightly open as they stared sightlessly towards him.

Looking back up at the others, he began absently running his fingers through Leon's hair and removing tangles gently. The younger man let out a small moan of pleasure at the sensation and relaxed further, breathing evening out. "So what are you all doing up here?"

"Just catching up," Sora replied with a smile, "and introducing Yuffie to everyone."

"How long until it's curfew?"

"Another twenty minutes," Scorpius replied as he checked the clock on the old grandfather clock in the corner.

"I see…."

"So how are Zack and Reno?" Yuffie asked with a grin.

"Drunkards like normal," Cloud replied with a shrug. "Reno hasn't eased up, and he and Zack are now Auror's and are partners and the wizarding worlds worst drunks. Or best, depending on how you look at it."

"Oh…. Awesome. That's a first – Reno willingly working with a SOLDIER."

"Ex-SOLDIER, but yes, I agree, considering how much he seemed to dislike working with us in the old days."

Yuffie snorted in laughter. "That's putting it simply."

Cloud couldn't help it when his lips twitched in amusement, his hand still running through Leon's hair absently.

"I think Leon's crashed," Sora decided suddenly as he tilted his head to the side, watching the older brunette in amusement.

"I think you're right," Riku replied with a small laugh.

"Do you want a hand getting him to bed?" Yuffie asked with a small smirk.

Cloud looked down at his lover contemplatively, lips pursing in thought. "Mmm…. No, I think we'll be alright. Thanks anyway Yuffie."

Tbc~

* * *

><p>I have no excuses, i'm sorry. Life just got busy. I know I promised i'd get this up WEEKS ago, but it just didn't happen. *sighs*<p>

I haven't got the next chapter finished yet either, so once I do I will put it up, and I will work very hard on it when I can. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit rushed, but... *shrugs*

Again, i'm sorry! Let me know what you think. :)


	14. Are You Sure They're Not Related?

"_Do you want a hand getting him to bed?" Yuffie asked with a small smirk. _

_Cloud looked down at his lover contemplatively, lips pursing in thought. "Mmm…. No, I think we'll be alright. Thanks anyway Yuffie." _

Chapter 14 – Are you sure they're not related?

Leon groaned and blinked a couple of times, pushing himself up a bit and rubbing a hand down his face.

Cloud blinked and looked down at his lover before looking back at Sora in amusement. The brunette was yawning loudly and tilting back, squeaking as he accidently slipped off his seat on the arm of the chair and falling into Riku's lap. Blushing bright red, Sora looked up at Riku and tried to move. "Sorry Ri…."

Riku clamped his hands on Sora's hips and smirked at him, shaking his head. "Don't bother moving. Axel has already stolen your seat."

Sure enough, the red head had claimed his chance at finding a seat off the ground and sat down where Sora had been only two seconds before.

Sora pouted a bit but quickly got over it, settling back against his best friend, and Riku's arms shifted from the slighter islanders hips to around his waist, hugging him loosely.

Albus looked at them oddly while Lily just smirked. Rose was still looking at Leon in fascination.

Stormy grey eyes flickered open and he slowly moved to push himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the rocking motion his head was doing.

"You okay?" Cloud asked, peering into the other warriors face in concern.

Leon blinked and blushed at the close proximity, nodding as he gave a huge, happy smile. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Sora, Riku and Yuffie's jaws all dropped at the sight of the smile, and exactly three seconds later, Sora was screaming and clutching at Riku in sheer terror.

The rest of the common room looked over in alarm as Leon joined the screaming as he scrambled away from Sora and Cloud, Demyx joining in a split second later as Yuffie gave a squeak and backed away from the brunette.

"What? What's wrong?" Cloud asked in alarm, looking around for some sort of danger around them.

"He smiled!" Yuffie replied, her finger pointing at Leon in terror, her eyes wide. "Like…. Sora smiled! Do you have any idea how fucking creepy that is?"

Cloud's face hit the palm of his hand, breathing deeply and counting back from ten before looking back up at the two younger fighters and glaring at them. "_That _was what had you screaming?"

Sora was still gaping wordlessly like a fish, staring at Leon with wide eyes.

Leon's eyes were darting around in alarm, relaxing when he didn't see anything.

"Well…. It never happens!" Yuffie protested, her eyes still wide. "Leon smiling _never_ happens."

"It doesn't mean you need to scream about it," Cloud grumbled, looking at his startled partner.

"The heck it doesn't! It's like seeing you willingly dress up in a tutu. It never happens!"

Cloud turned bright red and shifted uncomfortably, and Yuffie's jaw dropped.

"No way…. Seriously?" Her gaze darted between her two friends.

"Shut up," Cloud grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared at her, disgruntled.

Leon whined and crept closer to him, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes that were about as big as Sora's. "Cloud…. I want chocolate."

Cloud twitched as he caught sight of the eyes and stumbled for something to say.

There was a pout barely formed with the puppy eyes, and the longer Cloud took to answer the bigger the pout got, increasing the size of the eyes just that much more.

"Whoa…. Are you sure Leon and Sora aren't related?" Riku asked in amusement, looking down at Sora, who was blinking in surprise, and mild horror at Leon's drunkenness.

"Um… quite sure," Cloud replied, shooting a look at the two keyblade wielders.

"Riku," Sora began quietly, still staring at Leon, "please tell me that I'm not going to act like Leon when I grow up."

"Don't worry, I think it would be emotionally impossible for you to act like Leon," Riku replied soothingly, looking amused. "Drunk Leon however, is a definite possibility."

Sora whimpered and cringed back into his friend's hold.

"Cloud," Leon whimpered again, moving forward so he was breathing in the blonde's ear. "I really, really want chocolate right now."

Cloud blinked and looked at the brunette, leaning back so he could face the gunblade wielder head on. "I don't have any chocolate."

"Really?" Leon whined in disappointment.

"Really."

Leon huffed and puffed his cheeks out, dropping his head on the blonde's shoulder.

"Is he sulking?" Riku asked Sora quietly.

"I…I think so," Sora replied unsurely.

Cloud glared at them while trying to push Leon off himself. "Leon, let's get to bed, okay?"

Leon just whined and shifted slightly, moving his hand so it was between Cloud's legs.

Rolling his eyes, Cloud reached up to push the brunette away from his neck, eyes going wide as he felt Leon bite him. "Ah…."

"Nnnn," Leon mumbled as he licked at Cloud's neck again and bit it, his hand that was resting between Cloud's legs coming up to wrap around his shoulders to keep him in place.

Cloud's eyes widened even further as he felt desire shoot him, weakness spreading through his limbs the way it did when Leon attacked his neck. Reaching a hand up, he quickly tried to block Leon from his neck by covering it. "Leon…. Leon, no, stop."

Leon growled and just began sucking on the pale fingers. "Want you," he mumbled around the fingers.

Cloud twitched and pulled his hand away from Leon like he'd been burnt.

Leon, undeterred, went for his neck again with a vengeance, attacking the skin there and sucking on it, creating a mark.

Cloud let out a gasping whimper at the sensations that shot down his arm and up his neck as Leon sucked on his skin. Eyes wide, the blond attempted to move away from Leon again, only this time being pinned against the edge of the couch, unable to move any further.

Leon just loomed over him and continued his attack.

"Damn it, I knew I should have brought my camera," Yuffie grumbled as she watched, a smirk on her face.

Cloud turned to glare at her, still fighting to get Leon away from his neck. "I hate you so much."

The smirk grew, the smirk falling when Leon stopped what he was doing and sat back with wide eyes, the grey eyes suspiciously shiny.

"You….you hate me?" Leon asked quietly, eyes wide as they focused on the blond.

Cloud looked at Leon in alarm, sitting up as the brunette backed away from him and sat back. "No, of course not. I was talking to Yuffie."

"You _hate_ me~!" Leon suddenly wailed, bursting into tears and covering his face with his hands.

Everyone's, including Cloud's, jaws dropped as Leon continued to wail like a small child – loudly and disgustingly wet with a runny nose.

"Aand on that note, I'm thinking bedtime before I get nightmares," Axel suddenly announced, and everyone agreed, the Slytherin's all standing up, except for Riku, who still had a stunned Sora on his lap.

Demyx unfortunately moved within catching distance of Leon and squeaked when he was suddenly hugged tightly, Leon wailing loudly into his shoulder, sobbing hysterically, arms wrapped around the musician's neck. "Cloud hates me~!"

Demyx gaped like a fish, mouth opening and closing hopelessly as he desperately looked at the others for help, arms reaching out for help.

"Leon…" Cloud began, struggling to get over his shock as he stood up and moved over to where the brunette was steadily traumatizing poor Demyx. "Leon, calm down. I don't hate you."

"You do," Leon cried, sniffling into Demyx's neck. "You told me!"

"No, I was talking to Yuffie," Cloud explained gently, reaching forward to tug the brunette away from the musician. "I love you. I couldn't hate you."

Leon sniffled and wiped his eyes and nose, looking at Cloud as the blonde's hands came to rest on either side of his face. "Really?"

"Really," Cloud answered with a small smile.

Leon hugged him tightly. "I love you too. You're the best thing that ever happened to me and I'll love you for ever and ever and ever no matter what Sephiroth does to you or what happens with your mako."

Cloud blushed at the proclamation but smiled anyway. "Thanks Leon."

Demyx hid behind Zexion the moment he was released, eyes wide in horror. "I think I've been traumatized," he whispered to the younger nobody.

Zexion snorted in amusement. "You can't be traumatized Demyx. We're nobodies."

"Bullshit," Axel scoffed. "I've seen Xigbar naked and been traumatized for life."

"Well… okay, but Xigbar will traumatize anyone," Zexion conceded with a wince.

"Exactly," Axel agreed with a grin, to the stairs. "Come on Dem, let's go to bed. I'm still appreciating how soft these beds are after not sleeping in a bed for weeks on end."

"Agreed," Zexion said, nodding as he headed for the Portrait. "We should go before we're caught walking around and get in trouble."

"Yeah, curfew is just about here," James added, looking at the clock.

Sora got up and Riku stood as well. "I'll see you tomorrow," the silver haired islander murmured in his friends ear and hugged him briefly.

"Sleep tight Riku," Sora replied with a smile as he hugged him back.

"Night everyone," Riku said as he too made his way to the portal, Scorpius not far behind him, having hugged Albus.

By the time the common room was mostly cleared, Yuffie looked at her two friends, both swordsmen whispering quietly to each other by the fire. "Hey, Cloud, do you want a hand getting Leon to bed?"

Blinking in surprise at the sudden question, Cloud shook his. "No thanks Yuffie, we should be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. Night guys!" She then left the Gryffindor Tower as well.

"Goodnight!" Leon called loudly after her with a huge wave.

She shivered. There was something scary about Leon when he got drunk.

LINEBREAK

"Drink up me hearties and a Yo, ho, ho!" Leon sang loudly, and very off key as Cloud managed to drag him back to their quarters. That dragline, may it be noted, was quite a zigzag line and nowhere near straight. If they weren't going one way, they were going the other, but they were getting where they were going and for that Cloud was grateful.

The blond had carried the other swordsman out of the Gryffindor common room and down the tower stairs, but once at the bottom the brunette had chucked a wobbly and demanded that he be put down and allowed to walk because he wasn't a child that needed to be carted around like a princess. Hence why they were staggering down the corridor, just in case you were interested.

"And a one, two, three, four! Drink up me hearties and a yo, ho, ho!"

"Leon, shh," Cloud hushed, wincing at the looks they were getting from the portraits. "You're going to wake everyone."

"Come on Cloud, sing with me!" Leon yelled as he threw them to the side again, arms flailing about like he was on a boat. "Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum!"

Cloud sighed and glared at a couple of students that were rushing past, staring at Leon as they hurried past and then stopped and stared backwards as the two warriors made their way slowly down the corridor. "You are so friggin noisy."

"Really?" Leon asked, stopping his singing finally and looking at Cloud. "I thought I was pretty quiet."

Cloud stared at his lover in horror. _If this is him quiet, I hate to think about what he'd be like loud._

Leon giggled and waved at a portrait on the other side of the hall, sending them to the other side of the hall. "Hiii all!"

"Oi! Keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep!" A portrait yelled as they staggered past.

"Sorry!" Leon yelled as they moved past and turned another corner. They walked in silence for a few seconds before Leon turned to the blond. "Hey, Cloud, how come you aren't singing? You're meant to sing. Superiors orders."

"Huh?!" Cloud stared at his lover like he was insane, which he pretty much was at the moment.

"Superiors orders! You have to sing! And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three! Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum! We'll pillage and plunder and save the good from the wicked!" Leon lurched them to the side again and Cloud just barely saved them from toppling over.

"For the love of…. Leon! Shut up!" Cloud snapped, the singing starting to get on his nerves.

"But I haven't finished the song yet," Leon whined with a pout.

Cloud groaned and yanked his boyfriend along faster. "You're more trouble than you're worth."

Leon laughed and stumbled along, trying to keep his footing, the sound of drunken singing filling the corridors and hallways.

**Warning! If you don't like yaoi don't read any further! **_**Semi-Lemon alert!**_** You have been warned; so don't complain if your eyes burn.**

They eventually made it back to their room and Cloud tossed Leon on the bed with a groan of relief. "Get into bed. I'm going to go and visit the hospital wing – see if there's something there that can sober you up. You're a mess."

"Okay," Leon agreed and began pulling his clothes off on the spot, his legs getting caught and tangled up around his boots, which he hadn't thought to take off.

Cloud stood and watched curiously for a minute or so as Leon struggled to get untangled, and eventually gave up and sprawled on the bed, legs trapped together and his shirt hanging around his neck.

Stormy blue eyes turned to Cloud with a pleading look and a pout crossed the strong face. "I'm stuck," Leon explained pathetically with a small whine.

Cloud stopped and stared, shaking his head as he moved forward to help Leon get undressed. "You're hopeless." Kneeling down on the edge of the bed, he reached out and grabbed one of Leon's boots, pulling it off first, then the other one, and peeled the tight, leather pants off the long tanned legs.

Leon stared up at him with lust filled eyes, and Cloud couldn't help but meet the lust-darkened eyes. A spike of desire and lust shot through him, and he groaned, closing his eyes briefly, eyes flying open again when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He met grey eyes again, and Leon leant up and kissed him, hands slipping around his neck to grip the pale shoulders as he plastered his body as closely to the blonde's as he could.

Cloud moaned in response to the kiss and wrapped his arms around his lover, kissing him back as he crawled forward to press the brunette back into the mattress.

Leon merely leant back and got swept along as Cloud kissed him. He moaned as teeth grazed his throat, head tossed back as a pale hand skated down his body and cupped the hardening length hidden amongst dark curls.

"C-Cloud…" Leon gasped, back arching as his cheeks flushed in pleasure, eyes closed tightly.

"Leon?" Cloud asked deeply, fisting the warm flesh in his hand, nuzzling the tanned neck as he kissed the junction between shoulder and head.

"O-oh…. Shiva…. Cloud...!" Leon shivered and threw a hand up to his mouth, eyes screwed shut, body tensing. "Cloud…. Cloud, stop!"

Cloud lifted his head curiously, wondering what his lover wanted. "You okay?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…." Leon wheezed out, and Cloud quickly got out of the way as the brunette sprinted for the bathroom, the sounds of vomiting being heard only a few seconds later.

Cloud sighed and ran a hand through his hair, unable to avoid feeling annoyed at the situation, and amused at the same time.

Getting up, he straightened his clothes and left the room, heading for the hospital wing. He was going to go and see Madame Pomphry after all.

Tbc~

A.N: Okay, so I wimped out on a full lemon. Sue me. I figured that this might be a more appropriate ending – that and I'd better get this chapter out. It's been mostly done for a while. ^^;

**- Sighs -** I am also extremely sorry for not updating in ages. It's been an interesting few months what with pole, dad landing himself in hospital for a week, theatre performances and work, ect. I am honestly exhausted. Having a week of just chilling. Our internet is also acting dodgy – it won't work if there are two computers using it, but one is no problem. – **Shrugs - **Really weird.

Anyway, sorry for the slow updates. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	15. The Day After

Well, here's chapter 15 guys. I'm so sorry for the wait. It took me forever to write the chapter after. I hope you enjoy it. There are a few swear words in this chappy, so advance warning. Oh, and Cloudnapping. ^_^

Enjoy~!

Chapter 15

Leon woke the next morning, and as soon as he opened his eyes he regretted it greatly as pain stabbed its way into his cranium via his eyeballs. "Holy Shiva on a breadstick!" Leon swore and closed his eyes again, groaning as his head spun. This was not a good way to wake up in the morning.

Cloud shifted on his left (or was it his right? Leon couldn't tell at the moment) and placed a hand on his cheek. "Leon?" he asked quietly.

Leon moaned in pain again, eyes squeezed shut. "Shhh…. Don't talk," he pleaded quietly.

Cloud stayed still for a moment before the bed moved again and within seconds there was a small glass of something pressed to Leon's lips. "Drink this. It'll help."

Not even pausing to think about what was in the jar, Leon downed the liquid and swallowed, gasping in shock and shuddering as his veins lit on fire. By the time the heat died down, Leon groaned and cautiously cracked open his eyes, sighing in relief as he turned to look at a curious looking Cloud. "Whatever that was, I never want one again." Shuddering, he rolled out of bed, braced himself on the wall as his head spun, and then headed to the bathroom to down a heap of water.

Cloud followed him cautiously, hovering in the doorway as he watched Leon down handful after handful of water from the tap. "How are you feeling?"

"Dehydrated. Hangover is gone though," Leon rasped as he turned the tap off and dried his hands. "What did you give me?"

"A hangover potion. I picked it up from the Hospital Wing last night."

"Right." Leon turned to look at his partner, leaning against the sink in just his boxers as he crossed his arms. "Now tell me, why did I need it in the first place?"

Cloud pursed his lips and flicked his gaze up and down his lover for a second or so. "What do you remember?"

"We went drinking with Reno and Zack. That's about it."

"Okay. Well, long story short, they got you plastered," Cloud replied with a shrug.

Leon's gaze narrowed. "How?"

"They kept giving you spiked drinks," Cloud replied with a wince as he averted his gaze.

"And you didn't stop them?"

"I would have if I'd noticed! As it was, I didn't notice until too late. Those two are geniuses at spiking drinks under my nose, and just because I haven't seen them for six years doesn't mean that their skill has diminished any." Cloud's blue gaze flew to Leon's in a glare.

Leon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. They stood in silence for a while before Leon turned to turn the shower on, and with a last, meaningful glare at Cloud, he stripped out of his boxers and stepped under the warm spray.

Cloud, getting the message that he wasn't welcome, stepped out of the bathroom and shut he door. Leaning against the wood, the blond closed his eyes and let his head thump back against the wood for a few seconds. Pushing off and walking back over to the bed, he took his time getting dressed.

By the time Leon emerged, Cloud was just doing up the last of the leather armor, and he paused when it was done to watch the brunette appreciatively as he got dressed.

Leon still didn't talk to him, so Cloud assumed he simply wasn't going to. Standing, he picked up his sword, slung it onto his back and walked to the door. Walking out without a word, he began the walk to the Great Hall by himself.

As he entered for breakfast, Cloud was met with a waving arm from Sora as he leant out into the aisle to make himself stand out better.

"Morning!" Sora greeted chirpily as Cloud approached. "Where's Leon?"

"And how is he?" Yuffie asked with a grin.

"He's pissed," Cloud replied with a sigh and slipped into the seat beside the brunette teenager.

"Oh…." Yuffie cringed. "Good luck getting him out of that funk."

"Thanks…I think," Cloud replied as he rolled his eyes.

"So what are you guys doing today?" Sora asked as he looked at Yuffie, dragging her into the conversation as well.

"Talking to Professor McGonagall," Cloud replied.

Pink smoke suddenly filled the main entrance, and as everyone turned to look at the commotion, Marluxia stepped out of the smoke, cherry blossom petals floating around him. "Good morning my petals!" Marluxia greeted cheerily as he practically skipped down the corridors, the area and people on either side of him getting covered with cherry blossom petals as he skipped along.

"Marluxia, what the fuck are you wearing?" Axel asked loudly as he took in the Graceful Assassin as he came within scrutinizing distance.

Marluxia stopped and looked down at the new robes he'd picked up the day before. The undergarments were green and black, while the outer cloak was a pretty dark green colour and had pink blossoms fluttering around as he moved. All in all, he looked like a rather controlled flower storm. "What? I like it."

"I like it too Marly," Demyx added with a smile. "It suits you."

"Naww, thank you Demy," Marluxia smiled as he patted the water mage on the head and continued skipping merrily for the teacher's table, greeting Professor Sprout with a cheery good morning.

"You're not supposed to encourage him," Axel hissed with a sigh. "My god. I'm surrounded by flamboyant idiots!"

"I will have to disagree with that statement," Zexion argued as he passed by, a frown on his face as he had his Lexicon out and was reading something. "We aren't all flamboyant, and we aren't all idiots."

Axel grumbled and planted his chin on his hand, a disgruntled sneer on his face.

"Some one's in a cheery mood this morning," Riku said as he walked past, nodding to Demyx.

"Shut the fuck up Riku," Axel grouched as he flicked the silver haired teen his middle finger.

Snorting in laughter, Riku flicked him one back and continued walking down the aisle to sit with Sora, Yuffie and Cloud. "Morning."

"Good morning Riku," Sora greeted with a smile as Yuffie shuffled over to make room for the other teen. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay, if it hadn't been for some idiot trying to make a potion at one am this morning."

"What happened?" Cloud asked curiously.

"It exploded. We have orange paint all over the common room, and no one's owning up to it."

"You sure it wasn't Pinky?" Yuffie asked in amusement as she craned her neck to see the pink haired nobody exchanging words with a very unimpressed looking Vexen.

"Pretty sure," Riku replied with a sigh. "How's Leon this morning?"

Cloud was about to answer when the subject of conversation walked past, ignoring them completely.

Riku winced. "Not good I'm assuming?"

Cloud rolled his eyes in response. "Excuse me." Getting up, he followed his partner up to the main table and dragged him to the side, the two getting into a quiet argument filled with lots of angry glaring.

Yuffie sighed as she watched them. "Ah jeeze. Oh well, not our problem." She went back to her breakfast. "They'll kiss and make up soon enough."

Sora and Riku looked at each other and shrugged, Riku serving himself up some breakfast while Sora continued eating.

"What have you got today?" Riku asked Sora.

Sora listed off all his classes, asking Riku the same question back.

"Can I come?" Yuffie asked suddenly.

Both teens blinked at her in surprise.

"Well, if we stay I'm going to have to become a student, and I'll be in the same age group as Riku," the ninja explained. "May as well get a feel for what will happen if we do stay."

"Sure," Riku consented with a shrug. "I don't mind."

"Thanks." She grinned and downed the rest of her pumpkin juice.

"Don't think I'll be explaining everything to you though."

"Got it," she replied in amusement. "A chance to bug the teachers. Awesome."

Riku met Sora's gaze and rolled his eyes, getting stuck back into his breakfast.

Sora just grinned and continued eating.

SECOND CHANCE LINEBREAK

Riku stopped and stared, blinking in surprise at the scene that he'd walked across later that afternoon.

Demyx was screaming like a little girl, and trying to helplessly shield himself against some Ravenclaw students that had water guns, and were attacking the blond. Riku recognized one of the girls as the one he and Demyx had accidently doused in water a few days back. Backing up a few steps, he quickly tried to disappear, hissing in shock as a sharp spray of water doused the back of his head.

"What the hell was that for?" he growled as he turned to face the group of five, glaring at them angrily.

"Payback for the other day," the Ravenclaw girl huffed as she hefted the large water gun and settled it on her shoulder, her other hand planted on her hip.

The two glared daggers at each other while the other four Ravenclaw students looked nervously between the two.

"Ugh… I'm all wet," Demyx whined as he stood, his shoes and clothes absolutely soaked.

"Demyx," Riku began lightly, getting the blonde's attention. "You're a water mage."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, that scare tactic won't work."

Demyx blinked at Riku in confusion. "Huh?"

"You're a water mage," Riku repeated. "There's water. We need revenge for this causeless attack."

Demyx blinked a couple of times, suddenly getting it as he grinned.

The Ravenclaw's looked unsure, the female leading the attack still looking unimpressed. "Oh please. Water mage my arse. There hasn't been a witch or wizard truly blessed in elemental magic for centuries."

One of the other girls squeaked in surprise as the water around their feet started bubbling and moving to form one big bubble of water, Demyx drawing the water out of his hair and clothes as he did so. Standing up once the bubble was fully formed, Demyx smiled fondly as the water curled itself around him, caressing his skin lovingly, but not leaving him wet.

Looking at the girl that had led the attack, Demyx grinned, the grin filled with mischief. "You going to join in Riku?" the blond asked.

"Nah, I'll leave you to it," Riku replied as he flicked his hand and shook his hair in distaste, grumbling in annoyance at the water that dripped off it, soaking his robes around his shoulders. "I'm supposed to be meeting Sora."

"Okay."

The Ravenclaw students all began backing up, a couple dropping their guns.

Riku turned with a wave and left. "Have fun."

"Hey, wait a….!"

"Dance water, dance!" Demyx yelled, and the corridor was suddenly filled with loud screams as the collected water rose and swept down and over the Ravenclaw's like a tidal wave, the move effectively starting a no-holds-bar water fight that involved wands, hoses, and even water balloons conjured by Peeves as the poltergeist cackled and joined in, helping Demyx thoroughly soak the Ravenclaw students.

Riku made his way down the steps and paused, looking back as he noticed the water starting to spill out of the corridor and into the stairwell, steadily running over the edge. Shaking his head, he rung his hair out a bit as he went to find his best friend.

A couple of staff members shot past him, and Riku smirked a bit as they paid him no mind. He had a brown haired idiot to find.

SECOND CHANCE LINEBREAK

Cloud rounded a corner, looking for Leon who had conspicuously disappeared on him, again, and stopped when his clothes suddenly went POOF.

Blinking, he looked down at himself, eyes growing wide as he realized his usual black SOLDIER uniform had been replaced with a little pink number. He was wearing his combat boots still, along with black and yellow chocobo socks, but his pants had been changed into a very short skirt that was the gayest shade of pink imaginable.

Actually, scratch that. It was a very short, frilly, fluffy, lacy skirt that stopped just above mid thigh, and his usual black zip up shirt had been replaced with a black, pink and silver chest hugging corset, complete with poofy shoulders with black lace, and black and pink lace cuffs on his wrists.

Feeling a tick beginning to grow, he looked up at the suspiciously quiet corridor and scanned the crowd of glittery, flowery, poufy, lacey, bubbly, and colorful outfits currently being worn by about twenty students, feeling his anger overriding his surprise and amusement.

"All right, who did it?"

No one answered. They were all too afraid to move as they stared at the skimpily dressed blond fighter, who still had his sword strapped to his back ironically.

Cloud meanwhile planted his hands on his hips and glared at the corridor of students. "I said, who did it?" he growled.

One of the students suddenly stiffened and twitched.

Cloud focused in on him immediately, snarling, "was it you?"

"I-uh-no-I," the sparkly boy stuttered, absolutely terrified.

"IT WAS HIM!" One of the students suddenly screamed, and that was all Cloud needed to hear.

His hand rose up to grip his sword, snarling as he pulled it off his back and held it behind him. "I am going to rip your innards from your body and then send you back to your parents in pieces for that little prank."

The boy suddenly screamed and sprinted in the opposite direction, hiking up his long, orange, sparkly skirts to run faster as Cloud took off after him.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

"HELP ME!" he wailed as he sprinted through the corridors and around corners, tears running from his eyes.

Cloud gradually began to close in on the boy, and just as he got within swinging distance, he was suddenly yanked back by the collar, sword flying from his grip to land against the wall as he was thrown to the ground. Shaking off his shock, he sat up and glared at Leon and Vexen, growling as he realized the boy was well and truly gone. "YEAH, YOU'D BETTER RUN YOU LITTLE RUNT! THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!" he yelled after the boy.

Growling, Cloud stood up, dusted himself off and turned to glare at his lover. "What gives? You made me lose him," he snapped angrily.

Leon meanwhile ran his gaze over Cloud's outfit heatedly, blinking as he watched the already short skirt rise teasingly up the blonde's backside as he bent over to scoop his sword up, checking it over for scratches and dints, clucking his tongue in annoyance as he spotted a couple on the handle and further down the blade.

"Cloud," he said quietly, and the blonde's blue gaze flew to him curiously.

"What?"

"What happened?"

Cloud snarled and turned to glare in the direction the boy had gone, sword hanging by his side. "The kid hit me with a spell as I came around the corner, and this is what you get. " He walked over to his lover, still looking down the corridor. "Stupid, annoying-" he suddenly yelped as he was thrown over Leon's shoulder, his sword dropping to the ground in his surprise. "Wha-Leon!"

"We'll continue this later," the brunette said to the blond academic before turning and heading back the way they had come.

"Leon! Put me down!" Cloud wailed, flailing and kicking on his lover's shoulder. "PUT ME DOWN!"

Vexen watched them go in amusement, listening to the yelp of indignation from Cloud as Leon shoved his hand up the back of Cloud's skirt, feeling whatever was there, and the loud slap from one of them followed by a yelp. Probably Cloud.

Shaking his head, Vexen headed back down the corridor that Cloud had just come from. Cloud could come back for his sword. He wasn't going to even attempt to move it.

Vexen blinked as he noticed a couple of students heading his way in sparkly, poufy, princess dresses, large blushes on their faces as they quickly ran to where they were trying to get to, obviously without being seen.

Shaking his head in amusement, he continued on his way. Xigbar and Xaldin would appreciate this little piece of gossip.

SECOND CHANCE LINEBREAK

Yuffie blinked as Leon came down to dinner that night by himself, a smug smirk on his face. Ducking out of her seat, she fell into step beside the brunette and leant forward to study his face thoughtfully as they walked.

Leon just looked at her, his grey eyes filled with mirth.

"Where's Cloud?" She asked cautiously.

"He's…occupied," Leon replied with a smirk.

"So I take it you two are over your spat?"

Leon glanced at the ninja for a second before sighing and nodding.

"You know Cloud didn't get you drunk on purpose, right? It was all Zack and Reno."

Leon nodded. "I know. That's why I'm here."

Blinking a couple of times, Yuffie stopped and stared as her friend walked up to the staff table and tapped the Headmistress on the arm. Talking to her quietly for a few seconds, she nodded and pushed her chair out and stood up.

Leon led her out of the Great Hall and Yuffie followed, purely out of curiosity.

They made it to the Entrance Hall, and Yuffie had to bite her tongue to hold back her giggles as Cloud stepped out of the shadows of an alcove. His normal black outfit wasn't present. Instead, the blond was wearing a dress. His cheeks were flushed red as Leon smirked at him, and the blue eyes narrowed in a glare as he flipped his lover his middle finger.

The Headmistress, to her credit, barely blinked and circled the blond once before pulling out her wand and casting a spell.

Cloud sighed in relief as his clothes morphed back to their usual look, and he gave his boyfriend an annoyed look. The three headed into the Great Hall, and Yuffie snuck back in after them with a giggle. Whoever said she wasn't a great ninja obviously didn't know her well.

tbc

* * *

><p>*giggles* Well, i hope you enjoyed it. Anyway, i'm off to go and put a large load of washing on. I haven't started the next chapter yet, but i have ideas, so I may start it tonighttomorrow. Probably tomorrow. :) Night all!

Vex


	16. The New Arrivals

Sora watched from on top of a hill as the ring of metal against metal echoed around the grounds. Students cheered loudly at the sounds and sat around the grounds watching the sparring match happening below, the girls giggling to one another at the strength and drive shown by each individual. As Sora watched Leon and Cloud cross blades, the boys around them cheered the two fighters on, crying out in surprise as Leon threw a log towards Cloud, who flipped over the wood block as he charged towards his opponent.

"Are they always like this?" Rose asked in distaste, her nose wrinkling as Leon managed to catch Cloud on his shoulder hard enough to draw blood. Cloud barely even flinched.

"How did he not feel that?" Scorpius asked with a wince. "That looked like it hurt."

"When they spar? Yes. Otherwise they're pretty okay together. It's just training. There are no angry feelings. When there is, boy is there blood. And Cloud has some sort of chemical infused into his body. I don't know the details, sorry," Sora replied with a shrug.

"Cloud has mako infused into his body from his time in SOLDIER," Yuffie suddenly announced, and the three of them looked up at her in surprise as she and Riku approached. "The mako gives Cloud super strength and stamina, and helps him heal faster. It's kinda like having large levels of radiation infused into the body so it mutates."

"That sounds...really bad," Rose decided with a grimace.

Yuffie shrugged. "It was the fad back in our home world. Shinra liked contributing to environmental issues."

"Who was Shinra?" Rose asked curiously.

"A company Cloud used to work for. They were massive. They were a large corporate that had a lot of branches of merchandise," Yuffie reported.

There was a loud cry from the crowd that drew their attention back to the fight. Cloud was on his back on the ground, his sword lying a few feet away while Leon knelt on the blonde's chest and stomach, the gunblade point embedded in the soft grass beside the ex-SOLDIER's ear. The two warriors were breathing hard, their chests rising and falling rapidly as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Leon won," Sora reported needlessly.

Riku just rolled his eyes. "Come on, lunch is almost over. Lets get to our next lesson."

Most of the crowd seemed to have the same idea as they all stood and collected their books and started making their way towards the Castle as Leon stood and offered his hand to Cloud, who took it and went to collect his sword and place it in its sling, Leon doing the same for his gunblade.

"Must we?" Sora asked with a whine as he tilted his head back from his seat on the ground to look up at his best friend.

Riku just looked amused as he stepped forward to nudge the head of brunette spikes with his knees. "Yes, now come on."

Sora groaned and started moving to stand up. "Fiiine."

Laughing to himself under his breath, Riku waited for his best friend to get himself together and start the trek back up to the Castle.

Sora turned to wave at Leon and Cloud as he walked up the hill backwards.

Leon spotted him and gave a nod back in reply.

Sora, happy that he had been acknowledged, turned around to walk forward and began jogging up the hill to catch up with the others, Riku sighing and picking up his pace a bit to catch up.

At the main doors, they separated and both went their different directions.

LINEBREAK

A week or so later, Zack, Reno, Leon and Cloud were walking back up towards the castle after a training session, most of the students following them asking Zack and Reno questions.

"So how do you know Mr Strife?"

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Why are you so strong?"

Zack laughed and explained briefly about SOLDIER and the mako, Reno throwing in odd remarks every now and again.

Cloud was laughing as Zack began regaling some of the more amusing missions he'd been on when in SOLDIER still.

A male teenager tapped Leon on the arm, gazing at the sky, and pointed up. "Hey, Mr Leonhart, what do you think that is?"

Leon looked up, and Cloud, catching the motion, copied him, as did Zack.

"Is that an airship?" Zack asked, pausing where he was as he shaded his eyes to watch the ship that was rapidly plunging towards the school.

"It's a gummy ship," Cloud informed him, stomach sinking as they watched the ship slide through the air without slowing.

"What's a gummy ship?" Reno asked curiously.

Cloud's heart leapt into his throat as the ship hit the main doors with a loud crash, dust and debris exploding outwards and loud screeching sounded, as well as a few screams from people in the area.

Smoke poured out the doors and Cloud and Leon sprinted for the main doors, Reno and Zack not far behind them. As they bolted up the hill as fast as they could, a crowd of students gathered around the doors, blocking the way.

"Cloud, wait!" Zack yelled and grabbed his friend's arm as the blond went to plunge through the crowd of students.

"Let go," Cloud snarled and yanked his arm away, pushing through the crowd, Leon right behind him, and the two sprinted for the smoking and burning gummy ship.

The glass was cracked and broken, flames licking at the engines and one of the wings had separated from the metal body, currently lying halfway up the stairs. The paint was scratched, the metal bent and torn.

Cloud rammed into the door of the gummy ship at a sprint, fighting desperately to get it open. Leon joined him.

"Hold up," Cloud gasped and activated some materia, freezing the door and the joints as he stepped back and kicked at the door, hard.

It buckled, and Cloud kicked it again, aiming for the locking mechanism that was holding the door closed. One more kick, joined by Leon, had it flying inwards, and Cid appeared, staggering out and coughing from smoke inhalation.

Leon quickly grabbed his arm and led him clear of the wreckage. "Are you all right?"

Cloud followed.

Cid coughed and gasped, doubling over as Leon held him up. "Where's Aerith?" he gasped, looking back towards the ship desperately.

Cloud's eyes widened. "Aerith's in there?"

Cid nodded.

Cloud ran for the ship again, diving through the door of the wreckage.

"Cloud, wait!"

Not pausing to see who it was that called out, he plunged through the smoky inside, coughing and covering his mouth to try and limit the smoke inhalation, while squinting through stinging eyes. "Aerith!"

A coughing in the far corner caught his attention, and he headed towards it. A lump on the floor moved in the smoke, coughing again, and Cloud quickly knelt down to collect her in his arms, carrying her out of the ship as he stumbled over cushions, chairs, and bits of heated and burning debris before stumbling out of the ship and over to where Leon was standing anxiously with Cid, who was now sitting, blood running from a cut on his forehead and down his cheek.

Zack stared as Cloud plunged back into the burning ship. "Cloud!"

Reno grabbed his arm and dragged him forward, pushing a way through the staring students.

As Cloud emerged though carrying a coughing form dressed in pink, Zack felt his heart skip a beat and he stared, watching as Cloud put her down and knelt down beside her, his hand on her shoulder as she coughed and clutched at her chest, desperately trying to get clean air. There was soot all over her face and dress, but he'd recognize her anywhere.

Before he could register it, he was moving past Reno and flying towards his best friends.

Aerith looked up a brief second before she was suddenly tackled and hugged tightly, but also gently. Black hair fell into her field of vision, blocking half her view of the burning gummy ship, and Cloud. Blinking in surprise, she quickly began coughing again and was let go, a hand rubbing soothingly up and down her back as the smoke slowly cleared from her lungs.

"Are you alright Aerith?" Zack asked anxiously as he sat back just enough to check her over with his gaze. "No broken bones?"

"No," she gasped as she shook her head, more coughs tearing themselves from her chest as she clutched at it.

"Easy," Cloud urged, turning to look worriedly at Cid, who was beginning to breathe easier, his coughs dying down.

Leon nodded to Cloud to show the blond mechanic was steadily getting better. He hadn't known Cloud for this long not to be able to interpret the blonde's expressions.

"CID! AERITH!" Yuffie wailed as she suddenly appeared, sprinting towards them. She knelt down beside Aerith, peering up at them with wide and worried eyes. "Are you alright?"

"They'll be fine Yuffie. It's just a bit of smoke inhalation," Leon reported as he rubbed Cid's back soothingly.

"Oh thank Shiva," the ninja murmured and slumped a bit, the tension and worry visibly draining from her body.

Zack turned to scowl at Cid as his coughing died down. "What were you doing? You could have killed her! And yourself."

"Give it a rest," Cid growled. "The engines suddenly cut out and we had to make an emergency crash landing. It's not my fault." Another coughing fit cut him off, and Cloud placed a soothing hand on Zack's arm.

"It wasn't Cid's fault. If he had thought something was wrong on the way over he would have stopped to deal with it."

"Damn straight," the mechanic growled as he shrugged Leon's hand off, nodding to show he was all right and pushed himself up, stretching with a groan, his back cracking. "Ugh… I wonder what happened? I've never had anything like that happen before where the emergency back up power didn't even activate." He stooped a bit to rub a sore spot on his hip.

"It didn't?" Leon asked curiously, also turning to look at the nearly scrapped ship that was still burning.

"Dance, water dance!" Demyx suddenly yelled, a strum of chords from his sitar later and the gummy ship was covered in water clones extinguishing the flames and leaving the hot metal hissing as it cooled.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Sora asked as he ran over, Zexion, Riku, Demyx and Axel in tow, Demyx still manipulating his clones to douse the flames.

Aerith nodded and also stood up, taking Zack's offered hand with a blush as she turned to face Sora. "We're fine Sora."

Zack suddenly drew in a sharp breath and moved the blood soaked fringe from her eyes. "You're bleeding."

"It's just a cut," she said dismissively. "Nothing a simple Cure can't fix." She smiled at the dark haired ex-SOLDIER thought to show that she appreciated that he cared.

"We should get you up to the hospital wing, just to be sure there's nothing else wrong," Leon decided.

"I agree," Zack added.

Cloud sighed as he noticed McGonagall hurry down the stairs and part through the staff. He looked at Leon, who noticed and glanced at the headmistress, before looking back at Cloud. He flicked his eyes in the direction of the stairs before turning to deal with Minerva.

Hesitating, Cloud did as he was requested and helped Cid up, knowing Zack would get Aerith to the hospital wing, whether he had to carry her there or not himself."

"Whoa, talk about a noisy entrance," Reno suddenly joked as he entered the group.

Cid grinned widely and nodded to the red head. "Hey, wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Neither, although I should have guessed it since Spike showed up," the red head joked and clapped the mechanic on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get you some medical attention."

"Don't move," a voice suddenly barked and Madame Pomphry swept onto the scene, issuing instructions that they be sat back down again and the others clear out so she could run some tests.

Wands flashing as she muttered spells, she determined that Cid had a mild concussion with bruising while Aerith had the cut on her forehead, but nothing else except bruising.

Zack was so relieved he sat down on the spot, an irrepressible grin on his face.

Aerith blushed and looked at him with a fond smile, slipping her hand into his when she thought no one was looking.

Zack blushed but took it with a squeeze.

Cloud smiled to himself as he noticed the instant connection between his two friends. He'd known something like this might happen, and he'd hoped it would. Hopefully they'd be able to talk Zack, and even Reno, into coming back to Radiant Garden with them. He'd enjoy having his best friend around again.

"Oh, hey, this brings back memories," Zack replied with a grin, suddenly flopping down on his back and looking up at Aerith with a teasing grin.

Aerith looked at him in confusion, another coughing fit wracking her frame. "What does?" she croaked out.

Zack pretended to be dead, tongue stuck out to the side, slowly pretending to wake up and look up at her. "Are you an angel?" he asked, sounding dazed.

Aerith gave him an amused yet exasperated look. "Really?"

"Hey, no time like the present," Zack replied with a shrug as he sat up and brushed her hair back from her face, rubbing some of the black soot and smoke from her cheek. "Either way, you need a bath."

Aerith laughed and swatted him on the shoulder gently. "Shut it."

Zack grinned and grabbed her fingers, squeezing them gently.

Cid huffed and rolled his eyes. "Can we do the puppy love thing later? It's a bit smothering right now," the mechanic complained.

Aerith blushed and giggled while Zack grinned like the happiest person alive.

Reno sighed as a silver patronus shaped as a stag danced into the room and stopped in front of McGonagall, who blinked a couple of times as the message was delivered, and a few seconds later the fireplaces in the Great Hall flared to life and Auror's poured out of the fireplaces and quickly headed for the Entrance Hall. "Great."

Zack frowned as well as he stood up. "What are they doing here?"

"Fair! Tarshill!" Harry yelled as he jogged over to them once he'd spotted them, eyes wide as he looked around the chaos of the Entrance Hall and the now no longer burning gummy ship. "What happened? You two were here, right?" He suddenly blinked and focused on the two new other-worlders. "Who are you?"

Zack suddenly grinned and bowed, sweeping a hand out to gesture at Aerith. "Potter, may I introduce the one, the illustrious, angelic Aerith, who has forever been at the centre of my heart since I first laid eyes on her."

Aerith blushed but couldn't stop the grin that covered her face as she ducked her head bashfully.

Cid cleared his throat expectantly and Zack glanced at the mechanic with a dismissing eye.

"Oh, and that's Cid."

Reno barked a laugh at the disgruntled glare Cid gave the dark haired ex-SOLDIER. "That's Cid," he repeated under his breath. "For all the…" he trailed off unintelligently as he continued grumbling.

Cloud smirked a bit and patted his shoulder soothingly.

Harry merely raised an eyebrow as Zack turned to look at Aerith again, gesturing to Reno to come over and talk with them.

Sighing, the red head complied and moved off to the side to talk.

"You know these people?" Potter asked quietly.

Reno sighed and rubbed the back of his ponytail. "Yeah, we know them. They're old… well, I'd say acquaintances, of mine."

"And Fair?"

"I think it's best if Zack explains that one. Oi! Flower head!"

"What?" Zack yelled back.

"Get over here!"

Grumbling, Zack stood up and smiled at Aerith. "I'll be right back."

Nodding, she watched curiously as Zack made his way over to Reno and the man she hadn't met yet.

"What do you want?" Zack asked as he crossed his arms, glaring slightly at his boss.

Harry blinked a couple of times before frowning. "Think you could lose the attitude?"

Dropping his arms, Zack nodded. "Sorry."

"Better. How do you know those two?"

"Aerith saved my life once upon a time," Zack replied with a shrug. "I thought she was an angel when I woke up in her chapel, surrounded by flowers and her looking down at me." He grinned at the memory. "Cid I think I met once, but I don't know him very well. I…well…. I was killed before I really got to know him."

Harry nodded slowly. He'd heard the story about Zack being killed once before, but he had to say he still didn't believe it properly. He blinked suddenly as Zack whipped around and quickly ran back over to assist Aerith as she started to stand, fussing over her as she wobbled a bit.

Reno shook his head with a grin and looked at Harry. "Expect him to be useless for a few days, at least until Aerith tells him to get lost."

Harry watched in amusement as Ron walked over to introduce himself and ask a few questions. At a question where Aerith hesitated to answer, Zack growled at Ron, flinching as Aerith tapped him in the head with a "no," and Zack suddenly started whimpering, wide eyed and teary.

Reno snickered as Harry raised an eyebrow. "He is so whipped."

"Always has been, always will be," Reno replied with a laugh.

Harry sighed as he watched his Auror interact with his love interest. "How long do you think he's going to be useless for?"

Reno looked at the two lovebirds contemplatively. "At least a week."

"Screw that – he isn't missing out on work then."

Reno laughed and shot his boss an amused look.

* * *

><p>Okay, don't hate me! I know it's been forever, and I sincerely apologise. Bad excuse, I know, but life has been crazy. I've had some crazy shit to deal with at work (like, a dentist getting deported for abducting his kids from a foreign country crazy, plus more), my mother has been in and out of hospital a lot recently, and my sister lost it the other night, and I finally finished my Cert III for Dental Assisting. *Does a little happy dance* That's one good thing out of the way.<p>

I have a lot of time off until January too. Starting on Monday, due to circumstances of my mother going into surgery to have a hysterectomy and her 13 cm fibroid removed along with her uterus, I think i'm working all of 4 days until January, so lots of down time for writing.

I come bearing good news though: you will all be pleased to know that now that all the pieces are on the metaphorical Second Chance chess board the story has started to roll a lot faster (it helps that I have scenes pre-written too). I literally just finished writing chapter 22, and I thought I'd get this chapter up before I go to bed. I will post chapter 17 tomorrow, so hang tight everyone. :o)

-Vex


	17. A Visit at Work

So, after much struggle today (which I will explain at the end because I know you're all eager to read this chapter) I finally got the chapter up.

Enjoy. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 17<p>

Cloud stepped out of the floo network and into the entrance floor of the Ministry of Magic, his sword strapped to his back, and Zack's sword held in one hand. After the commotion caused by Aerith and Cid crash landing two days ago, Cid had overseen the clean up as older students and teachers assisted the mechanic in transferring the wrecked Gummy Ship into an abandoned shed on the edge of Hogwarts grounds.

Cloud had retrieved their gear and Zack's sword just before they moved the main bulk of the ship out of the castle. The sword had then sat on the wall in his and Leon's shared bedroom all day yesterday, while Cloud debated the best time to give the Buster sword to his best friend. Zack was back at work today, so he figured now would be a good time.

Having left and talked to the Headmistress, Cloud travelled by Floo to the Ministry of Magic, both of them having decided that would be the simplest mode of travel. He arrived, stumbling out of the hearth on the other side, and blinked in surprise, looking around with wide eyes as he took in the green and black decorated underground.

People came and left in a hurry, and Cloud stepped out of the way as the fireplace behind him flared up again and a middle aged witch stepped out, brushing the ash off of her robes as she glanced at him, her eyes widening a bit at the sight of the swords before rushing away, files held in her arms.

Following the flow of arriving people down the corridor, Cloud appeared in a large foyer and walked slowly as he took everything in. The room was bright, despite there being no natural light anywhere, or artificial lighting. A waterfall cascaded down one wall from top to bottom, the water running over the glass and creating a patterned effect that cast rippling patters around the rest of the foyer.

There was a large statue in the middle of the Ministry that had three people - two men and a woman – on top. Walking over curiously, Cloud paused at the edge of the watery moat with a seat as a barrier wall and read the plaque. _Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger – the Golden Trio who Defeated Lord Voldermort in 1998._ Looking up again, Cloud kept moving, walking around to see if he could spot his friend.

Paper airplanes zoomed over his head and settled themselves in an open elevator as people stepped out and others stepped in, the doors closing behind them. Attempting to stop a couple of people that walked past him, Cloud was shrugged off. One wizard paused briefly before directing him to the Information Desk over in one corner and hurried on, his steps almost settling into a run. They were obviously busy.

Doing as instructed, Cloud walked over to the information desk, where two young witches sat in the booth giggling to each other as they talked. Cloud knocked on one of the windows to get their attention.

They both looked at him, welcoming smiles on their faces, before they both saw the two swords, and one of the girls shrieked in alarm while the other pressed a button and the two scrambled backwards out of the booth.

An alarm sounded in the foyer, and Cloud blinked and looked around as everyone milling around scrambled for cover. The light brightened to almost blinding, and Cloud winced and threw a hand up to shade his eyes as his sensitive eyes were assaulted.

Letting his eyes adjust, Cloud watched with narrowed eyes as the elevators opened and Auror's in dark red robes poured into the atrium, immediately surrounding him and holding him at wand point.

"Don't move!" a wizard yelled firmly. "Drop the swords, and whatever other weapons you're hiding."

Sighing, Cloud leant Zack's sword against the booth and slipped back into a relaxed pose, complete with arms crossed, to wait for someone to figure out he wasn't here to attack anyone.

"I said drop your sword!" the Wizard yelled again. "And turn over your wand!"

Cloud ignored him and turned to a younger female who was looking at him in a bit of confusion. "Get me Zack Fair," he demanded and she blinked rapidly, looking at her superior for instruction.

"Do as he says," the older wizard who was yelling instructions grumbled. The witch hurried off at a run.

Cloud, content now that his request was being carried out, relaxed and lowered his head; eyes closing while his senses remained alert. He ignored any questions fired at him and waited.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" Zack asked incredulously a few minutes later as he hurried over to the surrounded ex-SOLDIER.

"You know this guy Fair?" the Auror asked quietly.

"Merlin, yes. He's harmless." Cloud raised a disbelieving eyebrow as Zack stepped up to give the blond a hug, a grin on his face.

"Harmless?" Cloud asked his best friend quietly, defensiveness ringing clear in his voice as he stiffened.

"Just play along," Zack murmured back and pulled away. "What are you doing here?" He asked loudly, planting his hands on his hips. "I wasn't expecting to see you for at least a week."

Cloud went to reply when he noticed the Auror's all relaxing one by one.

"What are the swords for?" a curious young wizard asked.

"Swords?" Zack asked, turning to scan the area beside Cloud, his eyes landing on his Buster sword and his eyes widened as he froze.

Cloud smiled a bit and picked the sword up, handing it over hilt first. "I thought you might want this back."

Zack took it slowly, completely speechless as he ran a hand over the blade, the metal showing its age, but having been well taken care of. "Cloud…"

"It's yours," Cloud argued, stepping back and placing both hands on his elbows, so they crossed about belly button height. "You deserve to have it back."

"I can't believe you kept it," Zack replied quietly as he tested his grip, old memories and technique coming back rapidly.

Cloud blushed and avoided his best friend's gaze. "Is it so surprising?"

Zack gave his best friend a smile and stepped forward to hug him with one arm. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I have some idea," Cloud replied in a mumble as he pressed his face into the taller mans shoulder.

They separated after a few seconds, and Cloud watched in amusement as Zack swung around and wielded his sword up and over his head, stopping in a neutral hold with both hands in front of him, a reckless grin on his face. The Auror's all took a wary step back.

Zack laughed and swung the sword to his side, hefting it with his right hand as he swung it up and on habit tried to settle it against its holder, blinking and blushing in surprise as the moment he let the hilt go, it crashed to the floor with a loud clang, chipping a couple of the black tiles. "Oops…" Bending down, he gave Cloud a sheepish grin as he picked it up again.

Cloud just shook his head, a smile crossing his lips.

"Think I'm going to have to pull my sword sling out of storage."

"You kept it?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Of course. I couldn't just throw it away," Zack replied with a shrug as he straightened up.

Cloud nodded in understanding. "Are you busy?"

"Kinda, yeah," Zack replied as his free hand rose to scratch the back of his head. "But meh. Hey, wanna come and train with me? I feel like I won't be able to do anything until I get a spar out of my system."

Cloud laughed and nodded. "You bet."

Zack grinned and led the way to the elevators. "Come on, I'll show you around. You haven't been here before, right?"

"No," Cloud replied as he looked around again.

They were followed by an entourage of curious Auror's and Ministry members, who had just stepped into the foyer. "Okay, so this is our main entrance. It's the only place we can come and go from. The rest of the place is warded, although we can communicate through our floo networks. Only a few are able to come and leave through the private ones."

Cloud nodded, somewhat getting it. They entered an elevator that was just arriving and people were emptying out of. Stepping in, Zack pressed the button for level two and waited for the other Auror's to enter. They went down, and Cloud blinked, pausing as the other Auror's piled out of the elevator. "Come on," Zack replied as he strode out of the elevator. The doors closed behind them and Cloud blinked as he watched the elevator drop down again. "Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Zack introduced as he turned left and began walking down the corridor and through a set of open double doors with a large sign above the doorframe stating Auror Division. "Come on, I think Reno should be back by now."

Cloud followed his best friend down a corridor, glancing in through the odd open door as they passed offices, only to find Auror's in conference, sipping at mugs of coffee or tea, and a quite a few doing stacks of paperwork that resided on their desks. A few Auror's slipped out of offices, hurrying down the corridors or striding confidently the other way, every one greeting Zack as he passed, giving Cloud a curious once over before dropping him out of their mind once he was out of sight.

Zack stepped into an office without knocking and stepped in. "Hey, guess who I found."

"Oh god," Reno replied, sounding extremely hung over. "Please tell me it's not that long legged brunette come back to haunt me. She was intense enough last night."

Zack raised an eyebrow as he opened the door wider to allow Cloud access. "I take it things didn't go well?"

"No, they went brilliantly! That's the problem. They went a little too well."

"I don't follow," Zack replied with a frown.

Cloud stepped forward, only to find Reno face planted on his paperwork.

Reno lifted his head to retort when he spotted the golden head in the doorway. He grinned. "Spike!"

"Hi," Cloud replied with a questioning raised eyebrow.

"Okay, explain," Zack continued as he shut the door and leant his sword against the wall. "What happened?"

Reno rested his chin on the paperwork glumly. "She was a muggle spy."

"What?!" Zack asked in disbelief, eyes going wide. "How the hell did you manage to land that? She was hot."

Cloud too was curious.

"That's the issue! She was hot! And she came way too easily." Reno snickered a bit at his own joke. "I had to execute the Tesseur maneuver to escape this morning."

"That bad?" Zack asked in surprise and Cloud's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Yeah, that bad," Reno replied. "I woke up to get out of bed this morning and she immediately had a knife against my neck. She then finished handcuffing me to the bed and went through _everything."_

Zack groaned, his head dropping back and his eyes closing. "Did you obliviate her?"

"Are you kidding?" Reno's head shot up in alarm. "I got the fuck out of there the moment I got free and found my wand! Hell, I almost landed a bullet in my hip. I had to drop through yours to borrow some robes and a hangover potion. Aerith is looking good by the way." The crimson brows waggled suggestively in his dark haired partners direction, a cheeky grin on the ex-Turk's face.

"You mean she could still be there?" Zack asked, eyebrows creased.

"Hyne, yes! I went straight to the Obliviators and told them to find her. She's probably unearthed just about everything in my apartment by now. Shiva, Potter is going to have my head if they don't find her. Man, she can put up a fight. She could rival Yazoo, and that guy was a fucking fluid fighter."

"You didn't stun her?"

"Course I fucking tried! She dodged and fired at me again! No way I was hanging around. I apparated out of there first chance I got!"

Zack raised his hands to appease his aggravated partner. "Alright, alright, calm down."

Reno huffed and leant back onto his chair, dropping an arm over his eyes.

Cloud and Zack both looked at each other. "Well, we'll leave you to it. Spike and I are going to go spar." Zack grinned and picked up his Buster sword again. "He gave me my sword back."

Reno ignored him, raising the arm off his eyes and waving it randomly in the air. "Congratu-fucking-lations."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Come on Spike. Later slut-face."

Reno gave him his middle finger as they walked out. Zack grinned.

"Come on. Let's get down to one of the training rooms." The ex-SOLDIER rubbed his hands together gleefully and led the way down another couple of corridors.

As they passed an open office, Zack paused as his name was called loudly. Backtracking, he poked his head in the office. "You wanted me?"

"Yeah, what was all the commotion earlier?" A familiar voice asked, and Cloud stepped closer, getting into an angle where he could spot the speaker. It was Harry Potter. "Oh… Hello. I wasn't expecting to see you here Mr Strife," Harry greeted pleasantly.

"He was the commotion," Zack replied with a grin, flicking his thumb at his best friend.

"Ah…"

"Anyway, we're off."

"Okay." Harry nodded and Zack backed out of the office.

"Come on." They set off down the corridor again.

LINEBREAK

Cloud flipped backwards out of the way, skidding backwards on the scorched and marked wooden floor, just barely managing to skip backwards out of harms way as Zack came after him again. Blimey, his friend certainly hadn't lost his touch.

They clashed again and Cloud defended as Zack lunged another attack. Gritting his teeth, Cloud attempted to throw the dark haired Auror off his game to get the upper hand by dropping low and sneaking an attack at his ankles. As Zack jumped over the attack, Cloud followed through by pushing himself up and aiming for the older man's torso.

Just barely getting his sword in front of him to avoid the sneaky attack, the dark haired ex-SOLDIER tripped over his own feet and landed on his arse, and he couldn't help but burst out into loud peals of laughter even as the blond allowed the tip of his sword to rest against the pale neck.

Raising a curious eye as he watched his best friend laugh, Cloud stepped back as Zack yielded.

"I give in. You win." Panting from the exertion of a fight he hadn't experienced in a long time, Zack, still laughing, fell back onto the hardwood floorboards and lay flat, staring up at the enchanted ceiling. Sweat soaked his hair and clothes, and a few droplets ran freely down the side of his face to drip onto the floor.

Cloud himself was warm with a light covering of perspiration, and his breathing was a little uneven, but he smiled and flopped down next to his best friend, enjoying the closeness of sharing a training session. "You know, I've missed this," Cloud murmured, turning his head to meet matching mako blue eyes.

Zack turned to look at him, his smile softening into affection as he reached a hand out to grip the blonde's. "Me too."

The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes, just relishing in the silence. Cloud eventually broke the silence. "How are things going between you and Aerith?"

Zack gave a most unexpected answer. He blushed. Bright red.

Cloud blinked curiously and sat up, giving his friend a confused look. "What does that blush mean?" he asked in amusement.

Zack gave him a cheeky grin. "Do you really want all the details? She's pretty kinky actually."

Cloud immediately stuck his hands over his ears, eyes closed in embarrassment. "Oh god! You couldn't have just said you were getting along really well?"

"Well you asked!" Zack protested with a grin as he too sat up. "Did you know she has the cutest little-"

"I am not listening to this!" Cloud yelled loudly as he stood up and kept his hands over his ears while singing loudly. "Lalalalalalalalala!"

Zack laughed loudly and clutched at his stomach while Cloud dropped his hands with a grin. "Seriously though," Zack said once he'd calmed down and took the hand Cloud offered him. "We're going well."

"I'm glad," Cloud replied, a soft smile gracing his lips.

Zack strode over to pluck his wand out of his robes, which were resting on the floor over on a wall. He cast a Tempus charm and inhaled sharply. "Is that the time? Crap! Um…. Listen, we're going to have to stop. I'm meeting someone in ten minutes." Zack looked decidedly nervous as he quickly pulled his robes over his head.

"You having lunch with Aerith?" Cloud asked in amusement.

Zack blinked at him in surprise, one arm halfway down the sleeve. "How did you know?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Oh please. It was obvious."

Zack flushed happily and continued dressing. "How do I look?" He asked once he was dressed.

"Like you need a shower," Cloud replied as he crossed his arms, looking amused.

Zack ran a hand through his hair in thought before shrugging and pulling his wand out and pointing it at himself. "Scourgify." As most of the sweat disappeared, he quickly cast a drying spell on his hair. "I'll shower later. Don't have time right now."

Cloud just gave his friend an amused look before scooping up his sword and placing it back in its sling. "Come on. Let's go."

They left the training room, quickly dropping back past Zack and Reno's office to drop the sword off and see if the red head was there. He wasn't. Neither of them were too worried though.

As Zack led his friend back to the Ministry foyer, he filled the blond in on what he and Aerith would be doing for lunch. Eating out at a restaurant and catching up, yet again.

Cloud merely rolled his eyes good-naturedly at his friend and waved him off when Zack apologized about not escorting him back to Hogwarts. "I'm not helpless," Cloud replied in amusement.

"Right….well, I'd best be off," Zack fidgeted as he straightened his robes, running a hand through his mussed hair. "Are you sure I look alright?"

"You look fine. Very handsome," Cloud soothed with a smile.

"You're just saying that," Zack grumbled as he pulled his wand out.

"No, I'm not," Cloud replied mischievously. "You really do look handsome. Irresistible in fact. She won't be able to keep her hands off your flabby form." He grinned and quickly headed for a fireplace as Zack squawked in alarm and began feeling himself for flabby bits.

"STRIFE!" Was the angry yell from his best friend as Cloud laughed and quickly vanished in an eruption of green flames.

LINEBREAK

Sora hurried back to the Gryffindor Common Room later that night. He'd had a full day of classes, and it was Friday, meaning they had the weekend to do what they wanted. And the first thing Sora wanted to do, was to find his cat. And then sit in front of the fireplace with Baubles and laugh with friends. They were an interesting bunch.

Finally reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, Sora spoke the password and slipped inside, smiling and waving as his best friend, who was already seated in front of the fire, spotted him. So far he was the only one there, and Riku had changed out of his uniform into the casual clothes Yuffie, Leon and Cloud had brought them.

"Hey," he greeted, heading over to the Slytherin.

"Hey yourself," Riku replied with a smile. "Had a good day?"

"Yeah, it's been fun," Sora replied. "Let me go and get changed and then we can head to dinner."

"Sure. Hurry it up Slowpoke."

Sticking his tongue out at his best friend, Sora darted up the stairs and into his dormitory. Quickly dropping his books and changing, Sora whistled for Baubles, who was nowhere to be seen. _She must be out exploring,_ he decided and quickly headed back down to the common room.

"Ready?" Riku asked once he appeared again.

"Yep. Let's go."

Riku stood and followed his best friend out of the Gryffindor Common Room. "Excited for the weekend?"

"You have no idea," Sora replied with a grin.

-tbc.

* * *

><p>Alright, so, you know how yesterday I said I had up to chapter 22 written? I did, but my computer died this morning, and the last back up I had was one from two weeks ago, so I lost the five chapters i'd written, plus two extra scenes for later on down the track. It's died twice today, and had to be recovered twice, so I thought that while it was working I'd get this chapter up and give you all a heads up on what's happening.<p>

Fear not, I have the chapter 19 already mostly written again, and the other four will be easy because they were mostly scenes I already had written months ago. It's my computer that is going to be the issue. Fingers crossed that not installing its latest update (which I did twice before) will do the trick. the OS system kept stuffing up, so I restarted it and... it didn't restart. It just hit a blank white screen and did nothing. *sighs* Might call for a trip to the Apple store if this doesn't fix it.

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic night, enjoyed this chapter immensely, and I should hopefully, fingers crossed, be able to get the those chapters redone without too much effort in the next couple of days. :)

-Vex


	18. Saturday Sliming

I'm so sorry! Merry Christmas everyone and all that jazz. :o) Notes at the end for those who want to read my excuses.

* * *

><p>Sora opened his eyes on Saturday morning, instantly awake as he stretched with a yawn. Sitting up, he smiled and reached down to pat the warm furry ball on his feet. Baubles yawned and stretched, blinking up at him blearily as she purred and pushed her head into his hand, demanding more pats. Sora obliged her with a grin and scratched her under the chin, enjoying the way she tilted her black head to allow him access to all her favourite spots.<p>

Looking around the dormitory, Sora noticed that all his roommates were still sound asleep. He must be up early. Oh well. It was Saturday.

Climbing out of bed, Sora quietly got changed for the day and picked Baubles up once he was done. Carrying her down the stairs, he scratched her behind the ear, both feeling and hearing her purr loudly against his chest, and left the Gryffindor tower. Carrying her down to the kitchens (James had shown him where they were), he tickled the pear and stepped inside as the portrait swung outwards.

House elves stopped to look at him curiously as he stepped in. One of the house elves scooted forward and bowed. "Good morning, Master," it squeaked as it straightened up again and wrung its hands together anxiously. "What can Dobbins do for Master?"

"Have you got any cat food?" Sora asked with a smile, having gotten a bit used to being addressed as 'Master' by the elves.

"Of course," Dobbins squeaked as he rushed off to collect some from a pantry. "Was there none upstairs?"

"I didn't actually check," Sora replied honestly, feeling a little sheepish.

Baubles meowed loudly in protest at being held and pushed against Sora's chest, demanding to be put down.

Doing just that, Sora let her down as Dobbins came back with a bowl of cat food and milk.

She immediately ran over and began eating daintily at the fish in the bowl, purring her appreciation.

Dobbins smiled and looked up at Sora. "Will Master be needing anything else? Some breakfast perhaps?"

"No, it's alright. Thank you though. I'll eat with the others. Do you know what the time is?" Sora asked sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Dobbins blinked and quickly checked a clock on the wall. "It is 6:21am," the house elf reported.

"Thanks," Sora replied. "Will you let Baubles out when she's finished eating?"

"Certainly," Dobbins squeaked with a smile. "Have a pleasant day Master."

"You too. Thanks for the delicious food everyone! Keep up the good work!" Sora yelled loudly through the kitchens, ensuring every house elf heard him.

They all chorused varying degrees of responses, most being high pitched and giggly.

Waving, Sora left the kitchens and headed towards the Slytherin Dungeons.

Walking quietly through the cold underground dungeons, Sora grinned to himself as he imagined Riku's response to being woken up so early, especially with no sunlight.

It was something the two teens had done since they had started middle school. Riku would wake Sora up on school days, because for some reason he always seemed to sleep in on a school day, and Sora would get his revenge on the weekend by taking great pleasure in waking Riku up bright and early, because again, like a child, he was awake at the first sign of sunlight on the weekends. It also meant he crashed early. Their sleepovers had always had to start at about midday, because Sora would only manage to stay awake until ten at the latest before he was unconscious, and Riku would sleep in until about ten in the morning. They were an odd pair.

Giving the wall marking the entrance to the Slytherin Common Rooms the password, the Latin name of a particular breed of snake, Sora slipped inside and waved brightly to a couple of first years who were up and talking quietly in the common room. They stared at him in surprise as he immediately made a beeline for the steps leading up to Riku's dormitory.

Riku had brought him down here one night during the week and had shown him around. The Slytherin Dungeons were spacious; he'd give them that. But they were also cold and gloomy. Sora much preferred the Gryffindor Tower. At least it was warm and brightly coloured and didn't smell like mold.

Slipping into his best friends dormitory, Sora squinted in the dim light as he scanned the beds, trying to spot his friend. Tiptoeing over to the bed he remembered was Riku's, Sora pulled back the curtains and grinned as he found the silver haired islander sleeping like he normally did.

Covers down around his waist, chest bare, a pillow clutched at his side, head turned towards the pillow, mouth open, and drool making a nice wet patch in the sheets. His legs were parted, one straight and the other at a ninety-degree angle, easily visible under the covers.

Snorting quietly in laughter, Sora attempted to stifle his giggles. Seeing Riku like this never failed to amuse him. His best friend was so good looking in everything but sleep. Climbing onto the covers, Sora moved the pillow so it was in a more comfortable position for himself and lay down beside his friend.

Riku grumbled as the bed dipped and rolled onto his side, turning towards Sora.

Sora laughed quietly to himself as he lay there and watched Riku sleep for a bit, taking in the version of his vain best friend that very few people got to see.

After there was no response for a couple of minutes, Sora decided to increase the staring up a step and wriggled closer, his body only a few millimeters from the older teens and he started intently into Riku's face, waiting to see how long it would take.

After about thirty seconds, Riku's nose twitched and he grumbled, burying his face further into the pillow. "…ra….off," came the slurred and barely audible grumble from the older teen, and Sora laughed quietly to himself as he reached a finger up to poke the crinkled skin between the silver eyebrows.

"Good Morning Riku."

"Sora… get lost," Riku groaned, opening an aquamarine eye to glare at his best friend. "It's too early."

"It's six-thirty," Sora protested, still smiling.

"Way too early," Riku grumbled and rolled onto his stomach. "Why can't you be like a normal person and sleep in on weekends?"

Sora laughed quietly again as Riku reached a hand up to rub at his knotted up hair. "You're so grumpy this morning."

"That's because it's Saturday," Riku grumbled as he rolled back over to glare up at his best friend while still half asleep. "Go back to bed. Get some sleep."

"Sleep? Sleep is boring," Sora replied with a small whine. "There's so much to do on a Saturday. You're better off getting up early."

"Unlike you oh bright sunshine, I like sleep. Now leave me alone for another two hours or I won't help you with any of your homework."

Sora just wriggled closer, widening his eyes even further.

Riku's eyes narrowed further. "Leave me alone Sora otherwise I'll never make you brownies ever again."

The next thing Riku knew, Sora had flung himself out of bed and he was out the door. "You have an hour!" Sora called over his shoulder as he rushed down the stairs.

Snorting to himself, Riku closed his eyes again and pulled the covers up over his shoulders.

There was a grumble from one of his roommates. "Shut up…"

"He's gone," Riku replied sleepily.

"Good."

LINEBREAK

Sora found himself wandering the castle, exploring corridors and other areas he hadn't yet had time to. Hogwarts was enormous, and so impressive. It was amazing no one got lost. Although he supposed that the reason why no one got lost was because they all managed to get lost at one point and then un-lose themselves. I mean, who wouldn't want to explore a massive magic castle?

Turning another corner, Sora blinked and grinned as he spotted two knights fighting in a large painting at the end of the corridor, loud cheers just reaching his ears from the other portraits watching and the few ladies watching in the background who applauded politely, a couple of women in fancy dresses waving dainty handkerchiefs' to egg the fighting males on..

Walking closer, Sora stood and laughed quietly as the black knight stumbled on his too large armor while the white knight tripped and fell flat on his face. Both of them connected the painted ground with a loud clang of metal against stone.

Quickly ducking his head and walking past, Sora listened as they got to their feet again and began insulting each other.

Jumping down a short set of stairs, Sora found himself back at the Grand Staircase and went down another level. The stairs moved halfway there and he sighed before shrugging. Third floor it was.

Opening the wooden door he was presented with, Sora looked inside curiously. It was dark, and dusty. It looked like there hadn't been anyone here in a long time. With one last glance behind him, Sora stepped inside, and as soon as his feet touched the cold, dusty concrete, lanterns lit up on either side of him.

Closing the door, Sora looked both ways before making a decision. Right. Turning, he started walking down the corridor, making a note of all the cobwebs draping the stone statues like a veil and the thick layer of dust covering the floor and lanterns. The lanterns were starting to smoke from all the dust on them.

Eventually, Sora came to a closed door. Lifting the latch, the brunette frowned as he found it locked. Looking back the way he'd come, he shrugged and stepped back a few steps, summoned the keyblade and unlocked the door. It creaked open, and Sora stepped cautiously through the door.

He entered into a large circular room with large windows. Eyes wide, he looked around the room, eyes focusing on a trap door in the low light. It seemed to be the only other exit in the room. Crossing the floor curiously, Sora opened the trapdoor with a huge heave and his eyes bulged at the sight of the large vines that writhed and very quickly reached towards him. One snaked around his ankle, and another caressed his cheek, both leaving a layer of slime, and Sora quickly stepped back. The vine shrieked in pain as it was jerked into the rays of sunlight and quickly shrunk back, leaving Sora room to shut the trap door.

Letting his heart settle for a few moments, Sora looked down at his ankle and grimaced, reaching down the wipe the slime off his ankle that had been left there. He used his sleeve to wipe his cheek off too.

Quickly getting up, he left the room and shut the door behind him again. It locked itself as he quickly walked back down the corridor. Peering around the door, Sora made sure no one had seen him before continuing along the left side of the Third Floor corridor.

There was more dust and more statues, but nothing of interest.

By the time Sora decided it was time for breakfast, he was sure more than an hour had passed. Quickly heading down to the Great Hall, Sora entered the room and scanned it for his best friend.

Riku was sitting with Albus, Lily and Rose at the Gryffindor table. Quickly walking down the corridor, he grinned and waved as the others spotted him, slowing as their smiles dropped and their eyes widened. "What?" he asked warily as he sat down slowly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Riku asked around a mouthful of food. "You look like a statue."

Sora blinked and looked down at himself, standing and patting himself down. Clouds of dust came flying off him, and he ran a hand through his hair, pulling cobwebs off his spikes that had fallen there accidently.

"You're having a shower after breakfast," Riku decided, looking unimpressed.

"Where the hell were you to get that much dust on you?" Lily asked, looking impressed and mildly disgusted at the same time.

"I was exploring," Sora replied as he sat down again.

"Exploring where?" Rose asked slowly.

"I found this really dusty portion on the third floor-"

"Sora, that's forbidden!" Rose hissed quietly, glancing around them to make sure no one was listening.

"Really?" Sora asked with a frown. "I don't see why it is. I mean, there's some sort of plant growing under a trap door in a room at the end of that corridor, but that's it."

"Plant?" Albus asked curiously.

"Yeah. It reached out and touched me, and it slimed me." Sora grimaced and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand and his ankle on the back of his other leg.

Rose looked fascinated. "What did it look like?"

"It had vines, but they moved. Oh, and when the vine touched the sunlight it shrieked and shrunk back."

"And you said it slimed you?" Rose asked curiously.

"Yeah," Sora replied, nodding.

Rose looked thoughtful for a while. "I wonder what happens if Devil's Snare gets slimy."

"You don't really think the Devil's Snare is still there, do you?" Albus asked his cousin. "That was all there ages ago. Surely someone would have removed it before now."

"Well no one uses that area, so they probably figured it was easier to leave everything where it was," Lily replied with a shrug.

"Hold up, I'm missing something here," Riku pushed in as he put his fork down. "Explain."

The three Gryffindor's exchanged looks before Albus nodded. He leant forward and motioned them a bit closer.

Sora and Riku blinked at each other but moved closer anyway.

"When our parents were back in their first year here at Hogwarts, there was a series of things that happened. On the third floor, there used to be a three headed dog called Fluffy-" Sora frowned at the mention of this – "who guarded a trap door that lead to where Albus Dumbledore was hiding the philosopher's stone at the time. Our parents went in there to retrieve it about the end of their first year, because they believe that someone was trying to steal it, and they were. It just wasn't who they thought it was."

"So what happened?" Sora asked.

"Well, Fluffy was taken elsewhere. Hagrid was very upset apparently. And Aunt Hermione was under the impression that the room had been dismantled once it was no longer needed. Apparently there are a number of traps and puzzles under the Devil's Snare. Uncle Ron was saying there's this massive game of Wizard's Chess. They apparently had to play and win. It was brutal from what he described."

"Wizards Chess?" Riku asked curiously.

Rose, Lily and Albus's eyes widened. "You've never seen Wizard's chess?"

"Why would I have?" Riku replied.

"Oh man, are you in for an experience," Albus replied with a grin. "I know what I'm teaching you this weekend."

Riku and Sora looked at each other before shrugging and Sora collected some food, still frowning thoughtfully.

Once he filled his plate, Sora pulled his arm back and opened his mouth to voice what he'd been thinking about. "When you say three-headed dog, was it black?"

Riku blinked and looked at his best friend curiously.

Albus frowned before nodding. "I think he was. Why?"

"I met a three-headed dog called Cerberus a while back, but I had to fight him. He was vicious. How did your parents get past at the time without being killed?"

Albus, Rose and Lily all exchanged looks.

"I think mum said there was a harp playing at the time they went in," Rose replied slowly.

"Yeah," Albus replied, nodding in agreement. "Apparently Fluffy's weakness was music. You played him a bit of music and he fell straight to sleep, according to Hagrid anyway." (A/N: Okay, who else reads this in Hagrid's voice? Every time I read it I do.)

Sora blinked a couple of times before frowning slightly. "I wonder…."

"Sora, no," Riku replied with a sigh, knowing exactly what his best friend was thinking.

"Aww, c'mon, Riku."

"No. I am not rushing in to save your arse when you're about to get it mauled."

Sora pouted a bit before shrugging. "Oh well." Subject pretty much forgotten, Sora got stuck into his breakfast.

LINEBREAK

"Whoa!" Riku said loudly as the sound of breaking china echoed around the Gryffindor Common Room.

Albus reached forward to smugly pick the shattered remains of a china pawn off the chessboard.

Hugo gave him an amused look before looking back down at the board. "Pawn to C3." The red chess piece moved forward of its own accord and sat there.

"Bishop to C3," Albus ordered, and grinned as he watched his white bishop cross the board diagonally, only to animate and spear the red pawn, breaking it into large, porcelain pieces.

Once Hugo had cleared the board, he thought for a moment before nodding. "Knight to C3."

As they watched, the red knight moved, and the knight on the horse drew a sword and cut the bishop in half.

"That is brutal," Sora replied with a wince. "But so cool at the same time."

Albus and Hugo laughed and Albus cleaned up his bishop. "Okay, seriously now. I'm not letting you mutilate any more of my pieces so easily from now on."

"Same here," Hugo replied with a grin.

LINEBREAK

Sora yawned and closed his eyes, enjoying the sun on his face as he lay on the grass. A shadow fell over his face and his eyes opened in surprise, jolting with surprise when he found Yuffie in his face. "Whoa!"

The ninja laughed and moved to sit down on the grass beside him. "Hey. So this is where you've been hiding all day."

"Only the last hour or so," Sora replied with a smile and a shrug. "Rose has been making me study. My brain felt like it was about to explode. I needed to get away."

"Fair enough."

They both sat and stared out at the Black Lake for a while in silence, just listening to the wind blow through the trees and the grass, and the birds chirping. In the distance, a tree groaned as it moved.

"It's so peaceful," Yuffie murmured suddenly. Sora looked at her curiously as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm just wondering what's going to happen. We all have to be here for a reason."

"Zexion had the same theory," Sora replied after a few moments. "He thinks this world is trying to protect itself by calling all of us here."

"It would make sense," Yuffie replied with a nod. "The question is, from what though?"

Sora shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

They were silent for a while before Yuffie spoke up again.

"Wanna spar for a bit?"

Sora laughed and nodded. "You're on."

That was where Riku found them twenty minutes later, with Sora flat on his back and laughing his head off, keyblade lying a few feet from his hand and Yuffie laughing so hard her knees looked like they would buckle at any moment.

Shaking his head, he left them to it.

Tbc~

* * *

><p>Okay, so i'll be honest and say I am so sorry. I've had the five chapters redone for a couple of weeks now. I just finished proofreading them tonight, and the next five are ready to go. :)<p>

My excuses (warning... Vent alert), for those who want to listen to them, are that my mother went in for surgery, came out of surgery, spent two weeks in bed while I ran around cleaning her house, because it was a pigsty and she doesn't clean. I then had work, and spent a weekend in Sydney with family for Christmas, so got nothing done there (had an absolute ball though).

Since I got back my mother has been a psychotic nutcase for the last three days (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day), and i've been dealing with her throwing abuse at me (telling me that my father should have died in January; that she doesn't know why I put up with him; that i've allowed "the filth" (dad's girlfriend, who is lovely by the way) to infiltrate my life and that that i'm slowly being corrupted - i'm being tricked into thinking that she's nice - that she wants me to like her; that pretty soon i'm no longer going to be welcome inside my own house, ect.), and have been trying to draw her out of her funk, which i'm just fed up with doing! She's acting like a child and i'm sick of being the adult and the bigger person when I shouldn't have to be! It's not fair! Every time she goes on a vengeance streak I'm the one that ends up getting hurt! I get the blame if I leave her alone, and then I get blamed if I stay close. I get blamed for not telling her things about Dad's girlfriend and she accuses me of lying, which i'm not, and then she rants and raves at me when I do tell her! It's a no-win situation and i'm essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'm damn sick of it! It's not fair! And she keeps ignoring me! the only way I can get her to talk to me outside of her throwing vicious insults at me about my father is by seeing her face to face. I'm meant to be taking her to coast tomorrow, but I doubt that will happen because she's been ignoring me for days, despite my efforts to make contact. I'm sick of it! I've reached the point that i've just gone "fuck it" and thrown my hands up in the air in surrender. With the rate she's going i'm going to have to cease all contact with her for my own mental and emotional health. As it is, work is contemplating sending me to a counsellor.

Sorry for ranting, but I can't really rant anywhere else. She's connected to everything else i'm on, and she comments on everything else. I've just been getting it from all angles, so I haven't had a chance to really hide away before now. I haven't had the time to even get time inside my own head really before tonight.

So, i'm now off work until 6th Jan. Dad has just decided to repaint the whole house. I kid you not, I left for work this morning and his plan was to finish the wick garden he's making in the claw footed bathtub on the front balcony (I miss that bath. It was a fantastic bath. Much better than the spa bath we have now). I get home, and he's torn his and his gf's bedroom to pieces - everything is in the dining room/loungeroom and he's got all his painting gear out and has started painting. *shakes head* Gotta love my father. He dropped the ceiling fan on himself earlier when he was taking it off so he could paint around it. Good thing I was hovering at the time.

Oh, and to top Boxing day off, I was permanently traumatised by trifle (to the point that I nearly throw up if I look at it for too long) by a seriously messed up dream (you really don't want to know), we had to run poor Normy (the cat) to the vet because he got torn up by our neighbours cat AGAIN (bastard cat. He needs his neck wrung) and my sister almost got abducted while walking home from a friend's place, so we had to call the police.

I hope your Christmases were less eventful and more pleasant than mine. Again, sorry for the vent.

Vex


	19. Sunday's Plans

Chapter 19 – Sunday's plans

"Hey," Riku greeted, sliding into the seat next to Sora at the Gryffindor table for breakfast on Sunday morning.

"Hey," Sora replied once he'd swallowed his mouthful of toast. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright. Yourself?"

"Yeah, okay."

Smiling, Riku reached for some breakfast, ignoring the frosty glares from a couple of older students further down the table.

"Ignore them," Hugo advised when he too noticed the glaring and glared back.

The girls quickly looked away.

Albus reached out to pick up some more bacon. "Is Scorpius up yet?"

Riku shrugged. "He wasn't in there when I left."

Al blinked. "That's odd. I wonder what possibly got him up before ten o'clock?"

Shrugging, Riku kept eating.

"Merlin's pants!" Rosie suddenly announced loudly, drawing her cousin and brother's attention as she dropped the Daily Prophet down on the table in surprise.

"What?" Al and Hugo both leaned in to read over her shoulder.

"Read this." Shoving the newspaper in their faces, she pointed to the section they should read, and they did.

When they were done, Al rolled his eyes while Hugo took it in hand and re-read the report again, interest sparking in his clear blue eyes.

"Riku."

Blinking in surprise, everyone at the Gryffindor table looked up, looking warily at the group of Slytherin's that were standing behind Scorpius, who was sliding onto the seat beside the older teen.

James stood up with a scowl, walking down a few seats to stand behind his brother and cross his arms. "What do you want Tracey?"

"Easy Potter," a dark haired Slytherin sneered. "We're here for Valley, not Gryffindor."

Riku focused on Scorpius curiously. "What's up?"

"How good are you on a broom?" Scorpius asked knowingly, a small smug smirk playing in the corners of his mouth.

"Uh… okay, I guess," Riku replied, not seeing where this was going.

"Okay!?" James burst out in surprise. "Man, you're more than okay! You're a bloody natural! It's not just anyone that can outfly both me _and_ Al their first time on a broom."

Scorpius turned to look at the other Slytherin's and they all nodded, turning to leave and head back to their own table.

"Score, what's going on?" Albus asked curiously.

"Okay," Scorpius began, settling himself on the bench properly as he reached for some breakfast of his own. "So McCollen managed to get himself in so much trouble he's in detention for the rest of term and he's been taken off the Quidditch team, so we need another player, and rather than hold tryouts we figured it would be easier to head hunt another player. I suggested you, Riku, seeing as you're the best I've seen on a broom in a long time."

Riku blinked rapidly. "Sorry? Can your repeat that?"

"Riku, that's fantastic!" Al grinned. "You have to do it. If you pass this up now you won't be able to play at all until next year, and even then you may not get on the team."

"I don't know anything about Quidditch," Riku argued.

"I'll lend you my handbook," Al offered, still grinning. "Man, you're so lucky."

"Tracey wants you down at the pitch after breakfast for tryouts. He wants to make sure you're really as good as I say you are," Scorpius informed as he picked up a mug of pumpkin juice.

"Uh… okay." Feeling bewildered, Riku just agreed and went back to his breakfast.

Sora nudged him and smiled when he looked over. "You'll be great. I know it."

"Thanks, I think," Riku breathed out.

LINEBREAK

After breakfast, Scorpius, Riku, Sora, Albus and James all wandered down to the Quidditch pitch.

"Will they let us stay do you think?" Albus asked as he bit his lip anxiously. It was well known that Tracey hated Gryffindor on Slytherin turf as much as he hated Divination, and the man despised Divination.

Scorpius shrugged. "Probably not."

"The least he can do is let us cheer our friend on," James muttered to himself.

Albus fixed his brother with a knowing look.

When they entered the Quidditch pitch, it was to all three balls out and the other Slytherin players speeding around the pitch, the beaters hitting bludgers to each other, and the chasers tossing the quaffle to one another as they practiced high speed throws.

"Come on, let's get you in the air," Scorpius decided and strode over to where his broom and a broom for Riku was leaning against the wall. Grabbing them, he handed one over and prepared to mount it.

"Oi! Potter!"

Blinking and looking up, everyone on the ground focused on Tracey as he flew in to land, glaring at James balefully. "No spies," the Slytherin ground out. "This is a Slytherin practice. You know the rules."

"What, I'm not allowed to stay and cheer a friend on during his first training session?" James huffed as he crossed his arms and glared back.

"Rules are rules Potter."

Snarling, James made to stalk forward but Albus stepped in his way. "James, let it go. Let's just go. It's not worth getting into trouble over."

James glared and thought it over for a bit before nodding. Turning, he stormed off, ignoring the gloating noise Tracey made before he focused on Sora.

"You too spikey."

Sora blinked before nodding. "Okay." Walking over to where Riku and Scorpius were standing, he reached up to hug his friend. "Good luck. Come and find us when you get out."

Hugging Sora back, Riku nodded. "Thanks, I will."

Quickly dashing off after the two Potters, he paused when he noticed Riku and Scorpius take to the air, and Tracey met them in mid-air. Smiling, he left again.

"That jerk," James huffed as they walked back up to the castle.

"I don't see why you're annoyed." Al rolled his eyes. "You only came because you were looking to spy on them."

"Yeah, but that's not the point," James grumbled.

"It is actually. You're just sore he called you on it," Al grinned, nudging his brother in the side.

James glared balefully at his brother. "Whose side are you on? Traitor."

Laughing, Al led them back into the castle and into the Great Hall, where the last few stragglers from breakfast were hanging around.

All three of them took a seat and Sora reached over to snag a sausage and pour himself a hot chocolate. "I wonder how Riku will go," he murmured.

"He'll get in," James announced. "He's damn good. With some practice and training he could easily be a pro."

Smiling, Sora took a sip of his hot chocolate, blinking in surprise when a blond with blue eyes slipped into the seat beside James and snagged a piece of toast.

"Hey Louis, where have you been? We haven't seen you in ages," Albus greeted with a grin.

"Oh you know, O.W.L.S. are keeping me busy," the blond replied, focusing on Sora with a smile. Stretching a hand across the table, he offered it to the brunette. "Hi Sora, I'm Louis Weasley. I'm Al and James' cousin."

"Oh, nice to met you," Sora replied with a smile.

"Sorry I haven't introduced myself sooner. Professor Higgs has hit us with all this assessment lately for potions. I've been holed up in the library most of the month."

"It's fine."

Louis looked around again before snagging another couple of pieces of toast. "Hey, listen, do me a favor? If Domi comes looking for me, tell her I died a tragic death. I was trampled to death by centaurs or drowned and ripped apart by grindylows or something equally gruesome."

"Sure," James agreed, his brows creasing in confusion.

"What did you do?" Al asked, his stomach sinking.

Louis grimaced. "I lost her dragonfly hairpin. She doesn't know yet, but she will shortly when she discovers it missing."

Al and James winced.

"Run dude. Run and hide," James intoned sympathetically as he patted his cousin on the shoulder.

"If you need me, I'll be in the library," Louis said and slid out of the bench, quickly heading out of the Great Hall.

"I don't understand," Sora said at their grim faces. "What's so bad about losing this hairpin?"

Al and James exchanged looks. "Dominique and her sister, Victoire, are part veela. And they're both very scary women," Al replied as he put his own mug of hot chocolate down on the table.

James shuddered. "They're vicious, and when they're in a mood, boy do you want to hide your man bits, because neither of them would hesitate to stomp on them."

Sora blinked again. "Just how many family members do you guys have here?"

Al and James both looked at each other and held up their hands to count people off.

"Let's see… there's Rose and Hugo; Louis and Domi," Al began, putting his fingers down as he listed people off.

"There's Molly, Lucy, Fred and Roxanne," James added on, putting down another four.

"If we count Lily that's nine," Al added in.

Sora's eyes widened. "That's all the cousins you have?"

"Merlin, no," Al replied. "There's also Teddy and Victoire, but they've both left Hogwarts."

"And I'm sure we've got a ton of second cousins somewhere along the line too," James shrugged and put his hands down.

"Wow," Sora breathed. His family of three seemed so small in comparison.

"You get used to it," Al replied with a smile.

LINEBREAK

They were in the Gryffindor Common room doing homework when Hugo staggered into the tower and immediately centered in on Al, who was sitting with Sora in front of the fire on a big red couch.

"Rose is going to kill me," Hugo groaned as he staggered over and dropped down onto the couch, his head landing in Al's lap.

Albus looked down at his cousin in amusement, textbook held up awkwardly so he could see his curly haired cousin. Lily looked up from a few meters over where she was sitting with her own friends.

"What's she done this time?" the female Potter asked curiously.

"What hasn't she done?" Hugo moaned. "I'm so sore I feel like I can't lift another book because my arms are going to fall off!"

Sora blinked in surprise as Al just shook his head and dropped his textbook on his cousin's face gently. "Your own fault for letting her catch you."

Hugo whined but let the book rest there, instead turning his head to the side so the spine wasn't digging into his nose and eyes.

The portrait opened, and Sora grinned when he spotted is two favourite Slytherin's enter the Tower.

"Hey, how'd you go?" Al asked with a grin.

Riku dropped down onto the small couch beside Sora with a smile. "I'm in."

"Congratulations!" Sora squealed and tackled the other keyblade bearer in a hug. "I knew you'd be great!"

"Well done," Al replied with a smile. "We knew you'd get in. They'd be stupid to turn you down."

"Thanks. I'm going to need to borrow that rule book," Riku replied as he wrapped an arm around Sora, who snuggled up to his side.

"No worries. I'll get it for you when Hugo stops treating my lap like a pillow."

"I'll stop treating your lap as a pillow once I can move again and my limbs aren't going to fall off," Hugo moaned pitifully.

Scorpius perched on the arm of the chair and gave Albus a curious look.

"Rosie got to him," Al replied.

"What did she make you do this time?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"What didn't she make me do? She made me help her pull three whole bookcases apart in the library and re-shelve them! Three! Those things are huge!"

"Why?" Riku asked.

"Because someone kept filing the books in the wrong order," Hugo grumbled.

"Couldn't she just report it to the librarian?" Sora asked.

"She did, twice," Scorpius, Albus, Hugo and Lily all replied at the same time.

They all looked at each other and giggled.

The portrait to the Tower opened and a dark haired female stormed into the tower, scanned the common room, and focused in on the group near the fire. Marching over to them, she smiled sweetly, rage flowing through her. "Hello Hugo," she began sweetly.

Hugo blinked and looked at her from underneath Albus' book. "Uh… hi Domi. What's up?"

Albus lifted his textbook off his cousin's face, wisely staying quiet.

"Have you seen Louis?"

Hugo blinked and sat up, giving her a wary look. "Domi, have you met Sora and Riku?" He gestured at the two other-worlders.

"Nice to meet you," Sora said with a smile, squeaking and plastering himself to Riku's side when he was glared at. This woman was scary!

"No I haven't," Dominique replied acidly. "Hugo, where's Louis?"

"What makes you think I'd know?"

"You always know."

"Right. Uh... have you checked the Greenhouses? Last I think I saw him he was heading down there with Uncle Nev."

Dominique's eyes narrowed, though the sweet smile stayed where it was. "Hugo, I hope you know that if I find out you lied to me I will sever your balls from your dick, fry them up and eat them for desert tonight. Now, are you sure Louis is in the green house?"

"Uh huh," Hugo squeaked, his hands flying to his genitals for protection.

"Fine." Turning on her heel, Dominique swept from the Gryffindor Tower.

Lily stared at Hugo with wide eyes, as did Albus. "Did you just… lie to Domi?" Lily asked quietly.

"Uh huh…" Hugo nodded, going into mild shock.

Albus shook his head in disbelief. "I suggest you run and hide Cous, preferably where she won't find you."

"Agreed," Hugo breathed and jumped up off the couch and headed up to his room to pack.

"She's scary," Sora whimpered.

"You haven't met her sister," Scorpius replied sympathetically, his own face a little pale. "She's worse."

Sora went white.

LINEBREAK

That night after dinner, screams of outrage filled the halls of Hogwarts, and even Peeves steered clear of the raging Dominique Weasley as she chased Hugo Weasley through the stone halls screaming obscenities.

Hugo just ran, figuring she'd tire out eventually, and then he would be able to outrun her what with him being a good two feet taller than his part veela cousin. He had longer legs, and he was in pretty good shape if he did say so himself, so that put his chances of outrunning Domi in his favor he figured. He ducked a curse that shot over his shoulder and just grazed his ear. It hit a wall and acid ate away the bricks with a hiss as he passed.

Hugo gulped. He'd survive, yes, if she didn't curse him to a pulp first…

~TBC

* * *

><p>So, here's chapter 19 guys. :) Hope you enjoyed it. ^_^ Happy New Year! If for some reason I don't post the next chapter before then due to Sherlock suspense. *Grins* If you haven't seen the BBC version of Sherlock, YOU MUST. It is AMAZING.<p>

Vex


	20. Transfiguration Trauma

Transfiguration that Tuesday was a mess. They were learning to transfigure a book into a bird, or vice versa, which was never easy. For Sora, who was the very definition of worse than ever, this feat was a definite recipe for disaster.

"Come on Sora, give it a go," Rose urged.

"Rose, I can conjure, I can charm, I can ride a broom, I can even be semi-good at potions, but the one thing I cannot do is transfigure."

"Of course you can. You just need more practice."

"I turned a turnip into a tea cosy instead of a top hat," the brunette key blade wielder answered flatly. "Even you can't say that's pretty bad."

"He's right Rose, that is pretty bad," Albus interjected.

"Living animals for me will be an abomination," Sora added.

"Albus, shut up. Sora, the only thing you can do is keep going."

"But Rose…"

"You just have to keep trying."

Sighing, Sora turned to his book and put his wand on the cover. "Converto et Besta," he murmured and sat back to watch with dulled interest as the book began to reshape itself in the shape of a bird, growing feathers out of pages.

"There, see? What did I tell you? You just needed more practice," Rose announced happily as she watched.

"Um… Rose? I don't think that's right," Albus announced carefully as he began backing away slowly, pulling a distracted Scorpius with him.

The transforming bird on the desk was still looking like a bird. Just. The wings had become more pointed, the beak looking like it had fangs instead of one sharp point, the talons on the feet pointing angrily as they lengthened and sharpened, and the body swelled quickly.

"Professor McGonagall!" Sora yelled anxiously, not knowing how to get it to stop.

"She's not here!" Another Gryffindor yelled back as the entire class began moving away from Sora's still transforming bird.

"Rose, how do we get it to stop?" Albus asked as he pointed his wand at it.

"Do something Weasley!" A Slytherin yelled.

"_Finate!_" the ginger haired girl yelled. The spell struck and the entire structure did indeed stop growing. It started shaking instead.

"What now?" Sora asked quietly as the shaking intensified.

"I'm not…"

That was as far as Rose got before the entire statue exploded, loudly. Screams echoed around the room as glowing paper fluttered around and settled on the ground, desks and uniforms. It was brushed off, crumbling into ash as it fell.

"That was… dramatic," Albus commented, pausing briefly to search for the right word as he lowered his wand.

"Just a little," Scorpius answered dryly.

"Hey, what's that?" Sora asked as he pointed to what was left sitting on his desk, looking completely untouched.

"It looks like a… bird," the raven-haired Potter muttered as he too gazed at the black mass curiously.

"Think it's alive?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Only one way to find out," Sora replied and carefully made is way over to the black bird on his desk.

"Be careful," Rose warned quietly as she lifted her wand.

Looking at it curiously, Sora blinked at the familiar black bird. Where had he seen a bird like that before? Tucking his wand away because he was completely helpless trying to defend himself with it, the brunette reached out a hand to touch a shiny black wing. The moment his fingers brushed the surface, the bird leapt to life, squawking and flapping its wings in a flurry.

"You did it!" Rose cheered loudly when the bird lifted off the table and began flapping around the ceiling.

"I don't think so," Sora murmured as he gazed down at his bleeding fingers, the flesh shredded where the tip of the wings had grazed the top of his fingers. "Stay away from it!" he yelled as he noticed the creatures' talons digging gouges in the bricks as it scratched at them, trying to get out. "Everyone out of the room!"

Not willing to argue, half the Slytherin's darted out the door before the Gryffindor's could even move.

"What are you going to do?" Scorpius asked as his brunette friend went searching through cupboards, obviously looking for something.

"Catch it if I can, or kill it. Whichever comes first."

"I'll help," Albus threw in as he too began searching.

Scorpius trailed after the middle Potter, his wand trained on the bird as it flew around. "Catch it with what exactly?"

"I'm not sure. Something hard? Or metal?"

"Accio metal!" Rose yelled, yelping and diving to the side as chairs, desks, cupboards, pens and other various things came flying at her.

"That was smart," Scorpius drawled sarcastically as she straightened and dusted herself off, a blush on her face. "Watch the bird."

The group of four froze as they realised the frantic sound of flying had stopped. The bird had settled on a light fixture and was watching them like a hawk.

"That's where I've seen a bird like that before!" Sora suddenly announced, realisation dawning.

The others just looked at him in confusion.

"Maleficent had a bird that looked like a crow. I hated the bird. It was annoying as it continuously tried to peck my eyes out."

He just received blank looks from the other three.

"Um… never mind. Random thought."

"Obviously," Scorpius muttered and turned his attention back to the still waiting bird on the ceiling. "Right, what are we going to do with this thing?"

"I'll try and stun it. Albus, Scorpius, give me a hand," Rose decided and Sora quickly looked for something to use, just in case.

Ah, there. Something sticking out of the metal pile. That would do.

"Ready? On three. One… two… three! Stupefy!"

The other two echoed her lead and Sora jumped to attention as the three beams of red light struck the bird almost simultaneously.

When the lights cleared, the bird just squawked a little and fluffed itself up, looking unconcerned.

"Crap… it's magic proof," Albus swore and looked around for something solid to use. Unfortunately everything metal was over near Sora and Rose.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Scorpius asked in disbelief.

"I don't know," Sora replied, sounding slightly panicked. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"No kidding," Al muttered.

"You three, get out of here while it's distracted," Sora ordered quietly, focusing back on the bird and the problem at hand.

"What about you?" Scorpius asked, quickly covering his best friend's protests with a hand.

"My problem, so I'll deal with it. I won't have you three getting hurt in the process."

"Sora, there is no way-!"

That was as far as Rose Weasley got before the birds loud screech ripped through the air, drawing their attention to it as the bird dropped like a rock, aiming for the single female in the room.

Leaping in front of her as she shrieked, Sora swung the desk he'd grabbed at the bird and scowled as the wood just splintered on impact, leaving the desk useless, but knocking the bird away.

Quickly looking for something else in the pile, they didn't notice the bird going after Sora until Albus yelled a warning. Rolling to the side, the brunette keyblade wielder winced as he felt the air skate across his back. That was close…

…and the bird was coming back.

"Sora, here!" Rose yelled, obviously having found something in the pile.

Taking it from her hand without looking, the islander swung whatever it was he'd been given that had a handle as hard as he could. The resulting CLANG resounded around the room, and a sickening crack was heard as the screeching bird was destroyed into chunks of what looked like concrete and fell to the wooden floor with different pitched thumps.

Breathing out, Sora stood straight and looked, for the first time, at what is was Rose had given him. His eyebrows shot up almost as far as his hairline. "A frying pan?" Turning to Rose, he stared at her in bemusement. "You gave me a frying pan?"

"It was the first thing I found that looked substantial enough," the witch replied defensively as she blushed.

"What I want to know is why there is a frying pan in the transfiguration classroom in the first place," Albus announced, looking at the now beaten up looking frying pan curiously. "In Potions I could understand, but in the Transfiguration classroom?"

"It is a bit odd," Scorpius agreed.

The door suddenly flew open and Professor McGonagall walked in and looked about the classroom in shock. "What in Merlin's name happened?" she asked shrilly as she turned to the group of four still standing in her now obliterated classroom.

"Well…" Sora began nervously.

Scorpius sighed. "You three can explain what happened. It was your fault in the first place."

"Actually, it was Rose's fault. She was urging him to try," Albus decided and walked over to his blond friend and sat down on a ledge. This was going to take a while.

"At least I was trying to be supportive," the Weasley witch snapped back angrily.

Sighing, Sora shook his head and explained what happened.

I'M A LINE BREAK BECAUSE HATES ME

"Did you forget you're a Keyblade Bearer?" Riku asked later in disbelief, after having had the entire story relayed over lunch.

Sora's eyes widened almost comically as the realisation sunk in.

"You did, didn't you?"

"I…well, I…"

"I can't believe you're a Keyblade Bearer. Half the time you're an air head!"

"That's not very nice," Albus objected with a scowl.

"He's my best friend. I'm allowed to be cryptic," Riku shot back snootily.

"Either way, we're all okay," Rose said firmly and glared at the two arguing males.

"It still doesn't change the fact that Sora is an air head."

"All right, enough about Sora," Scorpius interjected in annoyance. "I wonder who will win the Quidditch match this weekend?"

"It's Ravenclaw versus Slytherin, isn't it?" Riku asked curiously.

"Yeah. Slytherin will win, no questions asked," Albus decided firmly.

"You never know," Rose disagreed. "Ravenclaw could surprise everyone. I hear they've been training really hard the past month."

"I have heard some rumours flying around," Riku agreed. "They're apparently undergoing some rigorous training schedule. But either way, it's Slytherin. Things are bound to be rough."

Scorpius' expression darkened in distain. "I hope they put some extra umpires on the field. With those Ravenclaw beaters things are bound to get bloody, especially if they do what they did last season and have someone jinxing people during the game."

"They what?" The entire group chorused together in surprise.

"Didn't you hear about it? Three Slytherin Players were sent off the field because of hexes last season. Nothing dangerous enough that they couldn't be treated, but still enough to throw off the game. One beater crashed into the ground hard because of a wrongly timed hex."

"Or a right timed hex," Rose muttered angrily.

"Did they ever find out who did it?" Sora asked nervously, biting his lower lip.

"No, unfortunately. I suspect it was some Ravenclaw students though, not Quidditch players. Wands aren't allowed on the field."

"That's not right," Albus replied with a scowl. "Hexing people when they can't defend themselves is cowardice."

"Agreed," James muttered angrily. "Slytherin might be the most annoying house around, but they've gone through a ton of shit because of something that wasn't even their fault."

"Wow, you've matured finally," Hugo replied in surprise with a grin. "Never thought I'd hear you say that James."

"Shut up…"

Sora glanced at Riku worriedly, biting his lower lip.

Riku caught the glance and raised his eyebrows, looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"It's nothing…" Sora murmured.

"Sora, if it's worrying you, it's not nothing," Riku replied, moving closer and leaning down so he was looking directly into the blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried… Your first game is this weekend, right? I don't want you to get hurt…"

"Sora, we faced down Xemnas and Organisation Thirteen when they were the bad guys, so I think I can deal with a game of Quidditch by myself," Riku soothed gently. He hugged the brunette though. "Thank you for worrying about me though. I doubt there will be anything life threatening about it, and if there is you'll be right there to help me, won't you?" He looked into the bright blue eyes expectantly.

Sora nodded determinedly. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks Riku."

"Sora!"

Sora turned and found Zexion walking towards him, looking unimpressed. "Oh yeah! Sorry Riku, I have to go." Quickly hugging his best friend, he dashed off towards the slate haired nobody.

Riku watched him and shook his head in amusement. Trust Sora to make him smile.

LINEBREAK

Sora stopped, stared, and blinked for a few seconds at the scene he found himself faced with as he walked towards their Care of Magical Creatures class that afternoon. Hagrid was crouching before a small black blob he recognised only too well, and was patting it, cooing to it gently. The Shadow was twitching in a way Sora recognised far too well.

"You're a funny looking creature, aren't ya? Where did you come from? Popping out of the ground like that…. I wonder what ya are?"

"What are you DOING?!" Sora yelled, startling Albus, Rose, Scorpius and the other various students milling around at his sudden shout. "Hagrid, MOVE!"

Hagrid blinked and looked up at Sora, hissing in pain as the Shadow scratched his hand and launched itself at him, clawing his jacket clad chest.

Sora charged forward, books all but forgotten on the ground as the keyblade appeared in his hand. The Shadow twitched and turned to face him, Hagrid obviously forgotten for the time being, and shivered only moments before the Keyblade connected with the black blob, sweeping through it and dispersing the heartless in a cloud of darkness.

"Ouch…" Hagrid murmured as he stood up, pressing a hand to chest. It came away bloody.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked in concern as he leant forward to have a better look at the injuries the half giant had gotten during the attack. "Let me see."

"Yeah, the little guy scratched me. What was that?"

"It was a heartless," Sora replied as he held a hand over the scratches that were bleeding sluggishly. "Curaga."

Hagrid blinked in surprise when his injuries healed themselves.

"You know element magic?" Rose asked in surprise from beside him.

"Uh… what?" Sora asked in confusion, turning to look at the frizzy haired Weasley.

"Element magic is magic that is based off elements," Scorpius explained, also looking curious.

"Oh… yeah, I guess."

"Where'd you learn it?" Rose asked, envy in her tone.

"From Merlin," he replied before something clicked in his head. "Hey, I gotta go. Hagrid, can you excuse me from class please? Thanks. Bye!" Waving, he ran off, scooping his books on the way.

Rose, Hagrid, Scorpius and Albus all blinked in surprise and looked at each other. "He couldn't mean our Merlin, could he?" Albus asked curiously.

"No, there's no way," Rose said firmly.

Sora flew through the halls at a sprint, slamming the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom door open, cutting the Professor off mid lecture. "Sorry Professor, but I gotta talk to Riku. It's urgent."

The silver haired teen blinked in surprise before standing and making his way towards the brunette. "Sora what's-" He was cut off though as Sora yanked on his robes and dragged him out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

"The Heartless are here," he began immediately, releasing his best friend.

"What are you talking about?"

Taking a deep breath, Sora explained what had just happened.

Riku blinked before frowning in concern. "Are you sure?" The look he received from those blue eyes had the other keyblader blinking in surprise. "Obviously."

"It was just a Shadow, but there are bound to be more coming. I just wanted to tell you – give you a heads up."

"Yeah, thanks. You should tell the others as well."

"I will. Later Riku." With a wave, Sora shot off down the halls, heading for the top of the Castle. He'd start at one end and work his way down, running across the Organisation and Cloud, Leon and Yuffie. Odds were that he'd run into them sooner or later.

LINEBREAK

Axel grabbed his chakram as it came flying back towards him and spun to disperse another heartless that was hovering behind him.

Since they'd shown themselves the day before, the Castle was now swarming with the vile creatures. They poured out of every seemingly deserted corridor and unused classroom and a few students had been attacked. Thankfully they'd been girls who were more likely to run away screaming than stay and fight.

Turning, he marked the entrance of the corridor and headed towards the Great Hall for dinner. Rubbing at the back of his head, he bounced down the stairs.

"Hey, Axel!"

Pausing, the red head turned back, grinning when he spotted Demyx jogging towards him. "Hey, how'd you go?"

"Yeah, good. I found a nest in a deserted third floor corridor. Managed to drown most of them I think."

"That's good. Man, they just appeared out of nowhere. And so many of them."

"Yeah, Zexy has a theory behind that one," Demyx replied as they walked down a flight of stairs to the first floor. "He thinks that they've been gathering before now, and now that there's enough of them they've shown themselves in force because they'll have a better chance of inciting fear and being able to feed off the darker emotions of the somebodies."

Axel gave the water mage an amused look as they headed for the doors of the Great Hall. "That actually sounded intelligent for once."

Making a face of exasperation, Demyx rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

The two nobodies found their seats a few people down from Sora at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey," Sora greeted as he leaned forward to talk to them with a smile. "How'd you go?"

"Good. Dem made a dent, or he thinks he did," Axel replied as he began dishing himself up some dinner.

"That's good. Well, I'll give you the update now. Professor McGonagall has explained what's happening to everyone, has instilled a temporary curfew that starts straight after dinner for everyone's safety, and has warned the students and staff not to wander into any not regularly used corridors or sections of the castle for safety. If anyone runs into heartless, they're to run back the way they came and come and find one of us immediately, and we'll deal with the infestation."

"So we have a permanent late to class ticket? Awesome!" Demyx cheered as he served up his own dinner.

"Yeah, kinda," Sora agreed with a smile. "Anyway, Prefects and staff have been taken off rounds until we can get the heartless numbers under control, and we're on duty instead. Also, we're escorting the houses back to their dorms after dinner finishes."

"Okay, cool. Who am I with?" Axel asked.

"Dem, you're with Gryffindor. Axel, you're going to Ravenclaw Tower, and then back to the Gryffindor."

"What about you?" Demyx asked.

"I'm going with Hufflepuff," Sora replied.

"Who's going with me?" Axel asked curiously.

"I think Zex said Leon and Cloud, because their rooms are up that way. Xaldin and Yuffie too."

"And me?" Demyx asked curiously.

"Uh… Gryffindor has Saix, Luxord and Cid."

"Who's going to Slytherin?" Axel asked curiously.

"Riku, Zex, Lexaeus and Vexen."

"Okay, thanks." Sitting back, Axel quickly ate his dinner.

"Who is on rounds tonight?" Albus asked, having heard the conversation in full.

"Um… I think Lexaeus, Vexen, Cloud, Leon, and Marly and Larxene," Sora replied as he squinted, trying to remember.

Al nodded.

Sora leant back into his normal position and kept eating.

LINEBREAK

Sora walked at the front of Hufflepuff House with the Hufflepuff prefects leading the way. He darted off every now and again to deal with the heartless while Larxene and Marluxia brought up the rear, taking care of the Heartless that followed them, being drawn to the large number of hearts and emotions. Xigbar walked on the ceiling overhead, capturing a 'birds-eye view' of their progression as he called it.

Sora didn't care; it was working.

Smiling an apology at the Prefect that he was talking to, Sora darted up ahead to deal with the Heartless that had shown themselves in a pre-emptive ambush.

Eventually they made it to the barrels that marked the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories and Sora waited until they were all inside before nodding to Marluxia, Larxene and Xigbar and heading back to Gryffindor Tower.

Zexion had tested the dormitories earlier that day and had found them to be Heartless proof due to the number of spells that had been used to keep the living quarters private, safe and hidden, so that was a small relief off everyone's backs.

Reaching the base of the Tower, Sora smiled and nodded a greeting to Axel, who was just returning form his own run to Ravenclaw.

"Hey, all good?" the red head asked.

"Yeah, they're home."

"And so are we," Axel replied with a sigh, speaking the password to the Fat Lady. She opened and they made their way into the common room.

Sora looked around the quiet common room, noticing it was mostly empty. "Well, I've got homework I need to get done. Sleep well."

"Yeah, you too," Axel replied with a nod as he headed for the flames.

Sora headed up the stairs to his dormitory. Walking in, he greeted Albus who was sitting cross-legged on his bed with books and parchment spread out around him. "Hey."

"Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, all good."

Nodding in relief, Albus went back to his homework.

Pulling his robes over his head, Sora dropped them on top of his trunk in a pile, changed into his pyjamas and crawled into bed with his charms textbook. "Sweet dreams."

"You too."

Drawing the curtains closed, Sora opened the book and settled in to read. He was snoring within minutes.

~TBC

* * *

><p>I am SO sorry. I meant to get this up about a week ago and only just remembered I hadn't posted it. Please forgive me! i'll get the next chapter up sooner, I promise.<p>

I'm back at work again, so my time has been cut shorter again, so writing time will be a bit less. I apologise to everyone, again. I will try to update more regularly. I'm having a bit of trouble with ch 23, but I think it's more of an 'i need time to get back into the zone' thing than anything else. :o)

Happy New Year everyone!

Vex


	21. That Time of the Month

**Before you all start reading, feel free to hate me! I promised i'd get these up ages ago, but I hit a block in my writing and completely forgot about it for a while. I'm still clearing it actually. I've been working on another story that hit me a couple of weeks back. Its coming along well, and researching the human body is fascinating. You learn all sorts of interesting things in a Human Anatomy text book. Who knew? My work colleagues think i'm mad because i've been carting it back and forth to work and reading during my lunch breaks, and the book is like...2 inches thick. Easily. It's enormous. **

**My muse has been helping me with that story as well, and she's decided that every step i've taken due to my ignorance of the human body is wrong and she's decided I have to re-write scenes. *rolls eyes* I love her. Really. **

**But anyway, i digress. Enjoy this chapter. I'll post the next one sometime before the end of the week. :o)**

* * *

><p>At breakfast Thursday morning, Sora blinked as a piece of paper was placed in front of him. Glancing behind him at Zexion, who hovered, he dusted sticky breadcrumbs off his fingers and picked the piece of paper up. "What's this?"<p>

"I made up a schedule last night for who will be on patrol what nights," the Illusionist said as he pointed to where Sora and Riku's names were listed. "You and Riku are patrolling the dungeons tonight after dinner."

Nodding, Sora smiled up at the Nobody. "Thanks Zex."

Nodding back, Zexion continued his way up the table, handing over rosters to Demyx and Axel and explaining as he went.

"Good luck," Albus murmured with a smile. "Be careful."

"Yeah, we will." Turning to look at his best friend, Sora locked gazes with Riku who smiled and held up his own roster. Sora grinned back and turned back to his breakfast.

"When am I on?" Yuffie asked as she leant over to snatch the piece of paper.

Sora handed it over and she scanned it, pouting a bit as she did so.

"I'm not on here."

"You aren't?" Sora asked in surprise. "How come?"

"Squally probably requested I not get put on. You know what he's like. He's over protective of those he cares about, and he thinks of me like a little sister. My fighting style is more suited to distance fighting anyway and not close up battles like with the Heartless."

"Ah…" Taking the returned roster, he glanced up at the Staff table where Leon was listening to Hagrid talk animatedly about something while he sat back in his chair holding a mug of what was probably coffee.

Cloud was hunched over the table, moving his food around on his plate with a frown. He was looking pale with dark circles under his eyes that could be clearly seen from two thirds of the way down the table, and Sora frowned.

"Hey, is Cloud all right?" he asked Yuffie.

The ninja blinked and looked up at the staff table with a worried frown. "I'm not sure. He's been a bit odd the last few days. Aerith said he's been getting bad headaches and Leon said he's been pretty moody when I talked to him earlier."

"Maybe he's coming down with something?" Sora wondered as he bit his lip anxiously and chewed on it lightly.

"Maybe." Yuffie grinned. "I hope it's the flu. Cloud is pathetic when he catches the flu. He doesn't get sick often, but when he does its camera worthy. He's such a baby."

Albus snorted in loudly and gave the older girl an amused look. "You're such a nice friend," he said sarcastically.

Yuffie just laughed.

LINEBREAK

They were sparring. Really, what else would they be doing in the middle of the day with no duties? They had to stay in shape somehow.

As Leon and Cloud clashed blades over and over, a large group of students had gathered to watch them, watching from a good distance away as they both leapt, jumped and sparked. A few of the girls were regulars, giggling to their friends as they leant against a rock or tree, or sat on the ground.

Neither Cloud nor Leon noticed them though as they focused on each other, avoiding the metal edges that swept towards them.

Cloud leapt backwards as Leon's gunblade swept towards his legs and flipped backwards, landing in a crouch as he swung the buster sword towards the brunette, watching as Leon moved to counter the swing easily as he held his ground.

Cloud used the rebound to swing the other way as quickly as he could, flinching when his arm twitched in pain but he brushed it off and kept swinging. Leon avoided this one and swung towards Cloud, causing the blond to sweep his sword up to block.

Leon was mildly startled when he managed to whack his partner across his temple, and Cloud was just as startled, his eyes glazing as he staggered back and dropped the sword, a hand flying to his head as he sat down heavily with a hiss of pain.

Leon blinked and backed off. "You okay?"

Not getting a response, Leon frowned and waited with a gnawing sense of worry as he counted the seconds that passed as he waited for Cloud to snap back to normal. Normally the blond was right as rain a few seconds later after a blow like that. This was very unusual.

Blue eyes clearing about a minute later, Leon repeated his question, looking perplexed.

Cloud nodded when it passed and stood up. "Yeah." He shook his arm out, clenching his fist a couple of times. Grabbing the buster sword again, he stood in a ready stance. "Let's go."

Nodding, Leon started to attack again, leaving Cloud to block as quickly as he could and look for an opening at the same time, staying wary.

As the gunblade swung for his neck, Cloud ducked and pushed himself upwards with the sword sweeping towards the brunette. Leon sidestepped and twirled around the blond, sending the blade towards the unarmed back. Cloud moved to block it, suddenly seizing up as his body filled with pain. The buster sword slipped from his grip and landed a few meters away with a clunk.

Leon's eyes widened and he twisted his grip so that the gunblade hit Cloud with the flat and pulled the force back as much as he could. Cloud hit the ground and slid a couple of feet, curled up in a ball with his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Small cries of shock emerged from their audience, but he didn't care. Leon quickly knelt down by Cloud's side, placing a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the pangs in his wrists. He'd probably sprained them. "Cloud? You okay?"

Cloud didn't reply for a few minutes and when his eyes opened, Leon jerked back with surprise. They were lime green.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?" Came the rasped voice and Cloud pushed himself into a sitting position, his body shaking like a leaf.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know," he answered quietly, closing his eyes again as another wave of pain and nausea swept over him.

Leon stood and offered him a hand. "Come on. It's probably nearly the end of lunch anyway."

Cloud took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled upright, staggering slightly when he was up. Shaking his pounding head, he headed over to the buster sword and bent down to pick it up, yelping as pain stabbed into his arm worse than before and he clutched at it, dropping to the ground again as he curled around it, forcing himself to work through the pain as his eyes screwed tightly shut.

Leon headed to Cloud's side the moment he cried out and knelt by him, concerned and afraid as the blond lay curled up for a few minutes, before a whimper escaped his throat. "Cloud? What's wrong?"

"Hurts…" he whispered hoarsely, eyes clenched shut.

"Cloud, look at me," Leon demanded, turning the blond head towards him. "Open your eyes."

The eyes were opened slightly and Leon swore as the normally blue orbs were glowing a sickly green, far more green than he'd ever seen them.

"Come on, we need to get you up to matron, immediately."

"No," Cloud gasped, eyes closing again before a cry of pain left his lips and he curled up tighter, clutching at his stomach.

"Cloud, something isn't right. We need to get you checked."

"No…" came the same gasp again as Cloud gripped the grass, tearing it out by the roots as he clung to it, breaths heaving as pain tore through his body. Heat flushed it suddenly and he let out a strangled yelp as the familiar sensation of ice-cold mako ran through his veins, the pain ramping up another couple of notches.

He vomited, and as the slick wet liquid hit the green grass, Leon jerked back in horror at the vivid red colour of blood that mixed with whatever had lain in Cloud's stomach.

Leon watched with helpless eyes as Cloud's body began glowing a soft green, beads of green fluid leaking out of the blonde's body, quickly turning brown as blood mixed with the green ooze, the fluid pooling and running down the exposed skin, soaking into the dark clothing that covered skin.

A few drops touched the grass and the green grass smoked and hissed.

"CLOUD!" A familiar voice screamed and Leon looked up as Zack came hurtling down the hill towards them, Reno not that far behind him. Zack took one look at Cloud and turned to Reno. "Go get one of my potions from my stock. Hurry!" he ordered and Reno nodded, taking one look at Cloud before sprinting back up the hill as quickly as he could.

Zack dropped down beside Cloud and gripped his hand, ignoring the slime. "Cloud, it's Zack. Listen to me; I need you to stay calm, okay? You can panic after we get a potion into you, but right now you need to stay calm."

"What's going on?" Leon demanded as he looked at the dark haired man.

"The magic in this world is rejecting the mako infusion Cloud has in his body. The same thing happened to me when I first arrived here," Zack explained as he watched the brown droplets bead and run off the blonde's body to the ground, the mako evaporating in steam droplets as they hit the earth.

"How do we stop it?" Leon asked anxiously.

"I have a potion I can give Cloud. I take it about once a month or when I need to and it stops the reaction."

"So all we can do is wait?"

"Until Reno gets back, pretty much," Zack murmured and rubbed Cloud's hand soothingly, ignoring the brown slime slipping under his fingers. "Just hang in there Spike."

Cloud whimpered, eyes clenched tightly shut as he curled up around himself, breaths coming fast and uneven.

Reno sprinted through the castle as quickly as he could. He turned a couple of heads as he ran and when he entered the Headmistress's office, both Harry and Minerva turned to look at him in surprise.

"Tarshill?" Harry asked curiously as Reno ran for the floo, grabbed a handful of the powder and threw it in the fire, stating Zack's apartment address and disappeared in a ball of green flame.

Emerging on the other side, Reno quickly headed for Zack's stock of potions in the bathroom and grabbed a couple, heading back to the floo and transporting back to Hogwarts.

Harry grabbed his arm just as he emerged, jerking him to a stop. "Tarshill, what's going on?"

"Spike's in trouble," he gasped and jerked his arm out of Harry's grip, leaving the office at a run.

Minerva and Harry both followed him, Harry keeping pace with him until he got to the stairs and Reno leapt over the side without hesitating.

Harry and a dozen other students let out a cry of shock as Reno fell two floors and landed in a crouch, breaking into a sprint as he headed for the front doors, flying through them and down to where Cloud, Zack and Leon were.

"Here," he gasped and shoved the potion at Zack, who quickly took it and popped the cork.

"Cloud, think you can take this?" Zack asked calmly.

Cloud just curled up tighter and dragged in gasping breaths, shaking his head as a sob escaped through his lips.

Zack took a calculating look at Leon, who looked at him curiously, worry and concern showing on his face. "Trust me, this means nothing," he said and poured a mouthful of the potion into his own mouth before pulling Cloud up and shoving the liquid into his mouth with his tongue.

Cloud choked slightly but swallowed the potion as it ran down his throat.

Zack took another swig and forced the rest of the potion down Cloud's throat again, sitting back as he spat the horrible taste out of his mouth and onto the grass before wiping his mouth.

Reno just watched on worriedly as Cloud clawed the earth, tears rolling silently down his cheeks as his mouth opened in a silent scream.

Harry and Minerva caught up and watched as Cloud struggled against the pain.

"Fair, was this why you were so insistent that you visit all of a sudden?" Harry asked curiously.

Zack nodded and turned to look at Harry. "It just clicked when I started feeling the signs of the rejection that Cloud might be feeling the same thing. He's been here about a month so far." He looked back at his best friend and ran a hand through the brown tinged and slimy locks of hair. "I'm just sorry I didn't realize it sooner. He wouldn't have gotten to this stage if I had realized it."

"Don't blame yourself," Leon murmured. "I knew something was going on, but I didn't know what. He wouldn't tell me. He's stubborn like that."

Zack laughed and shook his head, a grin finding its way to his features. "Yeah, he is. I know that all too well." He looked at Leon curiously. "How long?"

"About three days, I think," he replied, eyes narrowing as he thought about it.

Zack nodded. "Mine's about five days leeway, but Cloud has more mako than me, so the shorter time period would make sense."

Cloud suddenly relaxed, his grip on the grass loosening as he breathed easier, body going limp and his eyes fluttered closed.

Zack stroked the blond head affectionately. "Just sleep Spike." He turned to Harry, looking decisive. "I'm taking tomorrow off."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking a little taken aback.

"Cloud's going to need me here to explain things, and I want to make sure he doesn't react badly to the potions."

Harry nodded slowly, seeing the sense in that. He turned to Reno, looking strict. "I expect to see you tomorrow. No slacking off just because Fair isn't there."

Reno whined and pouted. "That's not fair boss. You'll just have me running errands all day."

"Maybe I will," Harry replied with a shrug. "Both of you can take the rest of the day off. I know you're worried about him and you'll be near to useless Fair."

Zack grinned and saluted Harry. "You got it Boss." He turned to Leon and winked. "If I were still in SOLDIER I wouldn't have gotten a break like that. How I love the Auror department." He sighed happily.

Leon shook his head in amusement.

"Come on, let's get Spike to bed. He'll be out for the rest of the day, at least."

Leon strapped his gunblade to his belt and bent to pick Cloud up.

"Ah, I'll get him," Zack quickly interjected, hurrying forward to pick his slimy friend up.

Leon frowned. "I can carry him."

"Yes, I know," Zack appeased, "But he's also covered in radioactive goo that you may or may not pick something up from, and if Cloud poisoned you accidently he'd kill me and never forgive himself. I don't have a death wish just yet."

Leon backed off and nodded. "Can you get his sword as well? I can't carry it."

"Already there," Zack said and shifted Cloud into one arm before he stooped down to scoop the buster sword up. He spun it with a nostalgic grin.

Harry and Minerva both stared as Zack slung it over his shoulder to holster it onto his own metallic disc and easily and headed up towards the castle, leading the way with Cloud back in both arms.

"Pff, showoff," Reno said to Zack, who grinned and kicked him.

"You can carry it if you want to."

Reno laughed nervously and backed up a couple of steps, waving his hands in front of him. "No thanks, I'm good. I'd break my back."

"How heavy is that?" Harry asked curiously as he quickly caught up with them.

Zack shuffled Cloud again and reached up to grip the hand. He swung the Buster sword to the ground and held the handle out for the Head Auror to take. "Have a go."

Harry took it carefully, and Zack let go. The sword pulled Harry to the ground and he stared at it in awe as he tried to lift it up again, just barely managing to get the blade off the ground to hip height. "Merlin's beard," he choked out and put it down.

Zack scooped it up easily with a laugh. "Yeah, it's heavy, but you get used to it. Come on, we're falling behind." He quickly headed up the hill.

Half the girls swooned as they watched the group head up the hill.

LINEBREAK

It was an hour later that found Cloud clean, tucked up under the covers in fresh pyjamas and Leon at his side, leaning against the bed head and petting the blond spikes that were no longer soaked with brown goo. The blond was unconscious, with no sign of waking anytime soon.

Looking up when the door to their room opened, Leon nodded a greeting to Zack and Aerith.

"How is he?" Aerith asked as she hurried forward to check her friend over.

"Out cold," Leon replied as he watched Zack place a bag full of vials down on the table. "He's made a few noises of discomfort over the last ten minutes."

Zack pulled out another vial and tossed it to Aerith, who caught it. "Give him another. It should help."

Nodding, she uncorked it and slowly worked the potion down Cloud's throat.

Swallowing noisily, Cloud whimpered for a moment but then relaxed, inappreciable lines smoothing out of his face as he slumped back against Leon's side.

"Where did you get these?" Leon asked Zack quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping blond.

"St. Mungo's," Zack replied with a shrug. "I've already asked my healer to double the next batch so I can give some to Cloud."

"The healer will probably want to see Cloud for himself," Aerith reasoned.

"Yeah, probably," Zack agreed. "It's gonna be a tough promise to keep though. Spike hates doctors."

"Don't I know it," Aerith agreed. "I'm the only one he tolerates."

A bell chimed around the room softly, announcing that there was someone at the entrance. Looking perplexed, Zack walked over to open the portal, blinking when it revealed two people he hadn't expected to see. "Hello you two."

"Hey," Sora greeted as he let himself into the room, Yuffie following on his heels. "Is Cloud okay? We heard something happened to him."

"He'll be fine," Zack replied with a soothing smile as he ushered the two teens into the bedroom. "He just needs to rest for now."

"What happened?" Yuffie demanded.

Zack sighed and scratched at the back of his head. "Cloud… the mako we have in our bodies for some reason reacts badly with the natural magic of this world, and in turn we go through cycles where once a month the mako and magic clash and the magic tries to attack the mako and reject it from this world. It's unnatural, so the planet sees it as a threat. Or that's the theory we came up with anyway."

"And the potions?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"I take them when I feel the effects start to appear. It's usually in the form of muscle twinges and spasms, headaches, mood swings, loss of appetite, insomnia and such. It lasts for about three days for me."

Aerith's lips twitched in amusement. "In other words you have a time of the month."

"Hey, so does Spike now!" Zack replied indignantly, and both girls laughed, Leon's lips twitching in amusement. "It's not funny!" the man whined. "I get the worst cravings for chocolate. Just ask Reno! I'm still amazed that I don't put on any weight with the amount I eat in those three days."

For some reason that just made Yuffie and Aerith laugh harder.

Zack glared at his girlfriend. "I hate you," he muttered darkly.

Aerith's laughter died down into giggles and she walked over to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. "You love me," she teased.

Zack blushed, but smiled back happily.

"Ooh, I so wish I had a camera," Yuffie whined with a small pout.

Zack sighed and dropped his forehead onto Aerith's. "Remind me to stay away from her. She's evil."

Aerith giggled again and patted his cheek sympathetically, while winking a conspiring wink at the younger female. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll respect your privacy."

Yuffie grinned, getting the message. Aerith was going to be getting pictures of her own.

Sora looked amused and shook his head. "So Cloud's going to be okay?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes, Kiddo, Spike will be fine," Zack replied with a smile.

"Good." Sora sighed in relief before turning to Yuffie. "We should get going. We have class."

"Yeah. What do you have now?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"Divination. You?"

"Ugh, lucky. I have History of Magic with Binns."

Sora grimaced sympathetically. "Well, at least he won't notice if you're late."

"Isn't he the ghost teacher?" Zack asked curiously.

Both students looked at the Auror and nodded.

"Ugh, you poor things. I've heard he's an absolute bore. The old Hogwartian's I've talked to said he can make the most awake and attentive student fall asleep in five minutes, if not less."

Yuffie grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty bad. We were talking about the Giant Wars last lesson. I think I remember the first three minutes of his lecture, and the next thing I know I'm wiping drool off my chin as everyone packs up to go at the end of class. There was more than one sleepy face."

"How did he become a ghost teacher?" Aerith asked curiously.

Sora shrugged. "Rose said the rumor is that he just up stood up out of a chair in the staff common room one day and left his body behind. He never realized, and he's been teaching ever since."

"Cheap wages," Zack replied with a shrug and a grin.

"Yeah," Sora replied with a grin of his own.

"How odd," Aerith murmured, looking thoughtful. "Wouldn't you think you'd figure out that you were dead eventually?"

"He was pretty old apparently, and not fully cognizant."

"Ah."

"Anyway, we should get going," Sora said and turned around with a wave. "Tell Cloud I said get better soon."

"I'll bring some chocolate with me," Yuffie fair welled with an evil grin.

Zack groaned and placed a hand on his stomach. "Please don't. I'll get fat, and then hate myself for getting fat, and then Aerith will hate me because I'm no longer attractive."

Aerith giggled at the sound of rising hysteria in her boyfriend's tone and placed a soothing hand on his arm. "It's alright. Even if you put on a few pounds I'll still like you."

"You won't be saying that when I actually do," Zack grumbled and huffed.

Aerith giggled again and leaned up to kiss the dark haired man. "You're so cute when you're grumpy."

Zack wasn't sure whether to be chuffed or insulted. He somehow managed an interesting mix of the two.

Giggling, Sora waved. "See you guys." Turning, he left, Yuffie following.

Sighing, Zack waved his wand and a loveseat appeared just beside the bed, and he flopped into it.

"How long until Cloud wakes do you think?" Leon asked quietly.

Zack shrugged. "Depends how long it takes his body to repair the damage the rejection caused. The magic literally starts tearing our body to pieces because the mako is engrained in our cells." He grimaced and shivered a bit, rubbing his side. "Most painful thing I've ever been through. Thank Shiva for Reno and his ability to make people listen even though he sounds like an idiot half the time."

Aerith settled beside him and placed a comforting hand on his.

"On a lighter note, who wants to bet that Spike will curse me when I tell him," Zack said suddenly, quite cheerfully as he grinned. "His face is going to be priceless."

Leon snorted and smirked. Oh to have a camera… He may have to borrow Yuffie's.

LINEBREAK

Sora and Riku were patrolling the dungeons later that night after all the students were back in their dorms. There were large herds of Heartless appearing in deserted or rarely used corridors and classrooms, and the two Keyblade bearers has been given all the keys for the areas they were patrolling so they could more easily find all the corners the Heartless were hiding.

"So Cloud's okay?" Riku asked as they left another classroom.

"Yeah, he's okay," Sora replied, hands resting behind his head as they walked. "Zack said he should be fine in a couple of days." He grinned as he recalled the information he'd been given and relayed it to Riku.

Riku snorted in amusement laughed quietly. "Ooh, that is not going to go down well. Poor Princess."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, he's self-conscious about being girly already."

Riku fixed his friend with a curious look. "Why?"

"He can cross-dress and become a far too convincing girl way too easily."

Riku laughed loudly.

Yawning suddenly, Sora looked around. "What's the time? Do you know?"

Casting a tempus spell, Riku blinked. "It's nearly ten. Want to call it a night?"

"Yeah." Turning to his friend with a smile he pulled the older teen into a hug. "This has actually been fun. Want met to walk you back to your common room?"

Pulling back, looking absolutely affronted, Riku scowled. "No. Absolutely not. If anyone should be walking anyone back to their dorms it should be me."

Sora laughed. "I was joking Ri."

Glowering, the silver haired teen crossed his arms. "Wasn't funny."

Shaking his head, still smiling, Sora quickly bounced up on tiptoe to press a quick kiss to his friend's cheek. "Your expression was funny. Night Ri. I'll see you tomorrow." Turning, he left with a wave.

Riku, frozen in shock and his heart going a million miles an hour, groaned and sagged back against the wall once the brown head of spikey hair disappeared around the corner and he dragged a pale hand down his face, letting out a shaky breath. Fucking Sora.

Mmm… fucking Sora.

No!

Shaking his head, Riku quickly cleared those thoughts from his head with a little difficulty. Sora was his best friend for crying out loud! The boy was also an oblivious little shit that refused to make anything easy for him.

Groaning again, Riku pushed himself off the wall and began making his way back to the Slytherin dorms. He needed a shower and to drop into bed. Hopefully he ran into some Heartless on his way back too.

~TBC

* * *

><p><strong>Cookies and the next chapter for those of you that review! *runs away with a basket of cookies* <strong>


	22. Dragon!

I am so sorry everyone! I completely forgot I was going to upload this. It's been ready for months. I'm seriously beating myself over the head right now for my forgetfulness. Thank you so much to BlueBird325 for reminding me.

Anyway, i hope that this chapter will make up for it. Maybe.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 22 - Dragon?!<span>**

Sora cheered loudly, along with most of Slytherin and half the stands as Slytherin swooped down and Riku snagged the quaffle away from the Ravenclaw chaser, rolling to block her snatch and surged back into the surprisingly sunny sky, aiming for the Slytherin hoops.

"GO RIKU!" he screamed, grinning from ear to ear as he waved the Slytherin scarf he'd borrowed from the other keyblade wielder in the air.

The quaffle was passed and Riku dodged another Ravenclaw player, speeding towards the hoops as the quaffle was passed back to him, and he threw it through the goal, more cheers going up as the ball passed through, the Ravenclaw keeper not getting there fast enough.

Scorpius ducked down just enough to give Riku a high-five, and the silver haired islander grinned and zoomed over the stands to high-five Sora and a couple of others.

Sora laughed and watched as Riku quickly flew back to join his teammates.

"He's good!" Albus yelled in his ear over the din and Sora nodded, leaning in close to the middle Potter's ear to yell back.

"He is! Scorpius is quite good as well!"

"Yeah, Score's been playing for years." Albus grinned and elbowed his friend in the side. "You wait until you see us play. We're even better!"

Sora laughed. "I can't wait!"

The game continued, various cheers going up from the supporting houses as each team caught the ball, cringes of sympathy emanating from the entire crowd as one of the Slytherin chasers caught a bludger in the torso area. They were carted off by medical staff, barely noticed by the crowds above as the game continued above their heads, Slytherin now one player short.

Sora frowned as he noticed there wasn't another Slytherin player coming onto the field. "That's hardly fair," he commented to Albus. "They're playing disadvantaged."

Albus just shrugged. "It's the rules."

Slytherin scored another goal, and suddenly they were both cheering along with everyone else. As Slytherin swooped over the crowds, giving high-fives to those lucky enough to be within reach, the sky darkened with thunder clouds, turning black and blocking out the sun, a chilling wind starting up and cutting through those standing in the stands.

Riku stopped in mid-air and looked up towards the suddenly overcast sky, chills creeping over his skin as he stared, watching the clouds darken and spread in a circular motion. Sora watched as well, his stomach clenching anxiously as the people around him noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, a roar cut through the noise and a large shape swooped out of the clouds, dropping low and beginning to circle above the Quidditch pitch.

"Whoa!" Albus yelled excitedly and grinned, grabbing the brunette's arm and shaking it. "Sora, that's a dragon! I haven't seen one down this far ever!"

Sora felt his stomach drop to his feet when he noticed the heartless symbol on the scaly stomach. "That's not a dragon," he murmured, looking at Riku, who was looking at him. Sora nodded, and he could have sworn he saw his friend swear.

Riku swore loudly, drawing Scorpius's attention and he flew over. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously, watching the dragon circling them with excited eyes.

"Get everyone out of the air and land. That's not a dragon!" he yelled as he took off for the creature, ignoring the Malfoy's yells to stop. Making a direct line for the Heartless, Riku gathered a dark aura into his palm, and when he got close enough, aimed it at the dragon's head.

The Heartless screeched loudly as the darkness impacted and it moved sideways slightly. Riku ducked out of view and shot towards the ground, swooping around and coming back up on the other side of the pitch. He needed to get Sora on that thing.

Sora felt his heart clench painfully as Riku took a shot at the creature, barely listening to the cries of protest that were drawn from the crowd at the attack. As the silver haired keyblader shot up in front of them, Sora yelled his friend's name.

Riku slowed, looked down at Sora and nodded. "I'll come back!" He yelled and took off in a loop around the stands.

Sora threw his outer robes and Slytherin scarf to Albus, who looked at him like he was insane.

"What are you doing? Dragons are protected! You have to stop Riku!"

"That's not a dragon," Sora argued, and pushed his way to the front of the stands, ignoring the complaints from the people around them. As Riku flew back towards him, eyes locked on him, Sora timed it and jumped off the blockades, Riku catching his hand a split second before he started to fall.

"Are you insane?" Riku yelled, glaring down at him as he pushed the broomstick upwards as best he could with one of his hands holding Sora's. "What if I'd dropped you?!"

"Then I would have fallen," Sora replied with a grin and ignored the pull on his shoulder as Riku flew them above the dragon.

"Alright Smarty Pants. Listen, I'll distract it. You deal with the power stores on it's back."

"Got it," he replied with a smile and looked downwards. A second or so later he was released.

Sora dropped onto the Heartless's back, and Riku ducked out of sight. The creature shrieked and shifted, and Sora clung to a spine, closing his eyes as the heartless flipped and rolled, trying to dislodge him.

Another blast of Dark Aura to the dragon's face had it distracted enough to take it's attention away from Sora, and Riku flew right in front of it, turning tail and fleeing straight where the dragon was facing. The Heartless followed with a scream of rage, and Sora found his opportunity to attack the spines with the keyblade.

As Riku weaved around the towers surrounding the stands, he ignored the shouts of rage for them to stop from the crowds, swearing as a blast of fire from the creature's mouth missed him by centimeters.

Sora broke one of the darkness stores and stumbled as the creature shrieked, getting flung backwards and off the dragon as it pulled up mid-air and shot upwards unexpectedly.

"SORA!" Riku yelled and flipped the broom around, plummeting towards the earth as he stretched a hand out for the brunette to grab.

Sora reached a hand for the older islander and glanced at the ground, noticing it quickly catching up with him. When he looked back at Riku, his eyes widened in horror as he noticed the heartless racing after them with jaws wide open and eyes focused on Riku.

Riku himself noticed the horror on Sora's face and glanced behind him, eyes widening as he saw the dragon. When he looked back, a flash to the side caught his attention and he saw Xaldin creating something and aiming it towards Sora.

Making a quick decision, Riku sent Sora an apologetic look and hauled his broom out of the dive, knees skimming just above the grass before managing to get back into the air, the dragon screeching and following him after landing and bouncing off the ground and stands, tearing holes in the dirt and wood with its claws.

Sora felt the breath leave his body when Riku just left him, relief filling him when he was suddenly caught in a whirlwind of air that stopped him a few inches above the ground. After hovering in the swirling wind for a few seconds, it suddenly ceased and he dropped to the ground, hitting it like a rock.

Wincing and rubbing his rear end, Sora glared up at Xaldin, who was looking at him with a very unimpressed expression. "That hurt!"

"You should have landed on your feet then," he replied before summoning his lances.

"Dude, this is one hell of a dragon," Xigbar said from his other side, one of the guns tapping his shoulder while the other hung limply in his hand.

"It's like the one you unleashed on me in the Land of Dragons," Sora replied with a shrug as he stood up, watching Riku and the dragon as they shot up into the clouds.

"Actually, that was Riku, not me," Xigbar confessed with a grin. "I wanted to keep it. He wanted to get rid of it. He got to it first," the Free Shooter added with a shrug.

"What do we do?" Axel asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, Demyx beside him looking more than a touch frightened. "Sora, you've fought one of these before, so you'll have the best idea of how to deal with it. What do you suggest?"

Sora blinked and looked at the older men surrounding him. "You're all asking me?"

"Do you see anyone else here who's fought a dragon?" Xaldin asked sarcastically. "If we knew what the best course of action to take would be we'd be chasing it. Or I would anyway. This lot would be stuck on the ground."

"Hey!" Demyx protested with a pout. "I could follow."

"How? A geyser?" Axel retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, so?" the blond grumbled and poked his tongue out at the red head.

"Okay," Sora broke in before another argument could start. "Xaldin, we'll need whirlwinds to get up onto it's back. There are darkness stores there that we need to destroy. I've taken out one of them already."

"How many?" Xigbar asked curiously.

"Six… so five more."

"Got it. That's one each."

"This should be easy," Axel decided with a grin.

"Provided it doesn't throw us off," Sora agreed.

Cloud and Leon took that moment to appear at a run. "Where's Riku?" Cloud asked, unhooking his sword from his back.

"Up there," Sora replied, pointing at the dark cloud formation that the heartless and his best friend had fled into. He looked the blond over in concern. "Should you be fighting?"

Cloud fixed Sora with a glare that made him want to whither and hide in a hole. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Sora quickly soothed as he held up his hands in surrender.

A large explosion suddenly lit up the sky and Sora's heart leapt into his throat, his eyes immediately flying to survey the area. "RIKU!"

The stadium was silent as they all waited for something to happen, clouds shifting with the air currents.

"THERE!" Demyx suddenly yelled, pointing to a small figure that had appeared, plummeting head first out of the sky. The students and adults all seemed to let out a cry of horror at once.

"RIKU!" Sora screamed, immediately looking at the Quidditch teams on the ground. "Score, let me borrow your broom," he demanded, running over.

"What?" the blond Malfoy asked, looking stunned.

"Your broom!" Sora repeated urgently, quickly mounting it and taking off as soon as it was handed over. As he shot up into the air, Sora summoned the keyblade, urging the broom on faster towards his falling friend as the Heartless dove after him. Flying past his best friend, Sora threw the keyblade at the Heartless dragon, flipped the broom around, and surged back towards the other islander.

Matching Riku's speed, Sora grabbed his best friend's hand and guided him onto the broom.

"Thanks," Riku yelled into the brunette's ear, trying to be heard over the whistling wind as he wrapped his arms around Sora, gripping the broom at the front.

Sora nodded and tried to right the spinning plunge they were doing towards the ground, eyes widening as the broom spun out of his control and they began spinning head over heels with the added weight.

Riku gritted his teeth and quickly took over flying the broom, managing to pull them out of the tumbling dive and into a straight line, guiding Sora with small pressures as he plastered his body to his best friend's back. Even in the heat of the moment, he enjoyed feeling the warmth of Sora's body warm his own chilled one through the Quidditch guards and thick robes.

Heat exploded behind his back and Riku quickly threw them into a controlled spin, leaning as low over the broom handle as Sora would allow him too, to get away from the blast of fire as quickly as they could.

Riku worked them back down towards the ground, watching the Heartless over his shoulder as it followed them. As they flew in to land, Riku flew them behind the group of Organization members (all of them except Vexen, Lexaeus and Saix there), and Cloud and Leon.

As soon as they were past, Axel launched a fire attack at the creature, Larxene zapping it as best she could as well. The dragon screeched and hit the ground as it's flapping rhythm faltered.

Riku and Sora touched down lightly, Riku hopping off the broom and to the side with practiced ease while Sora stumbled a bit, taking the broom with him.

"Are you two all right?" Albus asked, hurrying over with Scorpius, Rose, Minerva, Hagrid, an unfamiliar blond man and a few other members of staff.

"We're fine," Riku replied, summoning the keyblade as he watched the attack happening behind him.

Sora handed Scorpius back his broom. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

"We need to get you five out of here," the blond man insisted, beginning to herd Scorpius, Albus and Rose back towards the gates. "That thing is dangerous."

Sora blinked at him in surprise. "Hi, I'm Sora. You are?"

Riku rolled his eyes, but turned back, looking curious.

The man blinked back before holding out a hand. "Draco Malfoy. Scorpius's father."

"Your Father was here and you didn't tell us?" Sora asked in surprise as he looked at Scorpius, who was goggling at him.

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Sora, there is a dragon attacking us! We have to get out of here!"

Sora perked up and turned back to the dragon, summoning the keyblade as well. "Oh yeah! You guys get out of here. We'll deal with this."

"I meant you two as well," Draco growled, glaring at the keyblade wielders.

"Sorry, but we're needed here," Riku replied, running over to the group.

"Are you two alright?" Zexion asked as soon Riku and Sora came within hearing distance.

Sora nodded. "We're fine." He looked up at the Heartless. It was back in the air. "How do we get it on the ground?"

"Hey, Larx," Axel suddenly said with a grin, wagging his eyebrows at her. "You up for a bird bath?"

Larxene suddenly grinned, her face lighting up in delight as she summoned more kunai. "Heck yes! Do it!"

Axel pointed his wand at the dragon, muttered something under his breath, and Sora and Riku watched with wide eyed wonder as the red head's wand shook before exploding into light, giant birds made of red and gold flame emerging from the end as they circled in two's towards the heartless.

The Heartless screeched and dove back towards the ground, fleeing from the birds as they hunted it out of the sky.

"My turn!" Larxene sung and leapt up into the air as high as she could, throwing five kunai into the ground in a pentagon shape. As Axel navigated the Heartless towards them, Larxene threw a sparking kunai at the pentagon and watched in satisfaction as the dragon was caught in the lightening trap, the dragon's wings failing in their flapping as the large body seized and it crashed down, landing on the grass.

As the lightening died down, Marluxia threw his hands to the ground in concentration and made the grass grow so fast and strong that it wrapped around the dragon, keeping it pinned to the ground. Once he was sure it was pinned as best he could get it, he nodded to the others, and Cloud and Leon took off for the creature first. Cloud leapt as high as he could just before the head and plunged his buster sword into its back while Leon took out one of the wings.

"Lets go!" Sora urged and quickly hurried after the two ex-soldiers.

"Sora!" Xaldin yelled and Sora yelped in surprise as he was suddenly tossed into the air by an updraft.

Landing on the dragons back, Sora grinned gratefully at the wind user and glanced at Riku who quickly joined him, immediately going for the darkness spines.

Cloud, taking the hint, joined him and took out two more while Axel had a go at the dragon's head, causing it to screech in pain and work more fiercely to try and set itself free.

Marluxia grew vines as quickly as he could and threw them over the creature's wings in an attempt to keep it grounded, Luxord helping by grabbing them and trying to hold them down on the other side.

Larxene just laughed and threw her kunai at he dragons hide, dodging its tail that was swinging around in distress.

The creature screeched and blew out a breath of fire, turning its head to its back as it did so and causing the people on its back to drop and roll off to escape being burnt to a crisp.

Soon though the stores were broken and Sora, Riku and Cloud cleared the dragons back while Leon activated the ability, Rough Divide, with his gunblade and, charging forward, sliced at the Heartless's neck in a diagonal upwards cut that exploded, easily severing the head from the rest of its body.

"Well, that was fun," Axel commented sarcastically as soon everything fell silent and the Heartless stopped moving.

"It was, wasn't it," Larxene replied with a wistful smile. "It's been a while since I got to kill something. It's just a shame it didn't last longer."

Leon gave her a wary look before strapping his gunblade to his back again, looking at Cloud, who nodded.

"Let's get inside," Leon decided. "Is everyone alright?"

"Fine," came the group response, some more grumbled than others.

As they all turned back to walk back towards the stadium entrance, laughter already floating from certain members of the group, Sora turned back to look at the dragon as a wind brushed past his neck. A ball of darkness was gathering in its mouth, the head hovering and glowing darkly, even as the body was fading into a hole of darkness and it focused on Leon, who was talking quietly with Cloud.

"LEON!" Sora screamed, diving for the older brunette and shoving him out of the way and into Cloud, just as the ball of darkness was released.

It hit Sora and his world exploded into darkness.

"_**SORA!"**_

LINEBREAK

Sora screamed as he went down, and everyone froze in shock, until the brunette hit the ground, unconscious.

"SORA!" Riku yelled as he dashed to his best friend's side, kneeling down beside him while Zexion pulled his Lexicon out and immediately began scanning the brunette.

Leon straightened, brushing Cloud's hands off him; he looked shocked and thoroughly pissed off at himself as he stared at Sora.

Axel cursed and ducked a bludger that flew down and aimed for his head. "These bloody balls are STILL flying about?! After all that?"

"How is he?" Riku asked after watching Zexion work for a few moments, ignoring the redhead.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing. The balance of his heart is unstable," the Nobody reported as he stood and looked at the older brunette.

Leon strode forward and scooped Sora up, immediately heading for the Castle.

Riku stood up as well, fully intending to follow them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Scorpius asked haughtily as he quickly caught up with them, a spare broom in his hand, along with his own.

"The Hospital Wing," Riku replied like it was obvious.

"The hell you are," Scorpius growled. "We still have a Quidditch match to finish."

Riku gaped at the Malfoy heir for a few moments. "You have GOT to be kidding! Sora's hurt!"

"And we still have a game to finish!"

"Fuck the game! Sora's hurt!"

"You have a commitment to the team!"

"I don't care! Sora could die!"

"I know! He's my friend too!" Scorpius snapped back suddenly, grey eyes flashing furiously. "You don't think I want to follow as well?"

That had Riku falling silent.

"Riku," Scorpius began quietly but firmly, getting in close, "when you agreed to join this team you made the same commitment that we all did - to play, regardless of the situation. The only way any of us will be excused is if you are physically unable to play, which most certainly is not the case here as you did not get mauled by that dragon, or whatever it was." He pressed the broom into the older teens hands. "You have a commitment here, and we're already down a chaser. If you don't play, we forfeit."

Riku hissed out in frustration.

"Riku," Zexion began, drawing the other islander's attention. "If anything happens to Sora while you're playing, I'll send you a message immediately. As it is he's going to take a while to stabilize and for us to figure out what damage that darkness blast has done. You're most needed here at the moment."

Growling out in anger, he snarled and nodded. "Fine."

Nodding, Zexion quickly turned to catch up with Leon and Cloud, who were already exiting the stands at a fast walk. Demyx and Axel quickly followed him. The others drifted off the field.

Noticing that the other Slytherin and Ravenclaw players were already in the air and that the umpire was urging them into the air, Scorpius mounted his own broom.

Riku shot a hand out to grab and grip the green robes and tug the Malfoy heir close, aquamarine eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'll play, but you had better catch that damn snitch fast, you hear me?"

Scorpius nodded and reached a hand up to detangle the large hand from his robes, grey eyes firm and determined. "I planned to finish this as quickly as I could already."

Nodding, Riku let go and mounted his own broom, kicking off and rocketing into the sky just behind Scorpius.

"AND WE'RE OFF AGAIN!" the commentator yelled over the top of the cheering crowds. "AFTER THAT DISPLAY OF BRAVADO BY RIKU VALLEY HE'S VALIANTLY JOINED THE GAME AGAIN, DESPITE THE FACT THAT HIS BEST FRIEND COULD BE GRAVELY INJURED. GIVE HIM A HUGE ROUND APPLAUSE EVERYONE!"

The cheers grew to deafening proportions and Riku gritted his teeth, shooting a nasty glare at the commentator with her scoreboard.

"Alright, let's finish this quickly, and cleanly," the umpire ordered and tossed the quaffle up in the air again with a toot of her whistle.

Riku played viciously, releasing all his frustration into his shots as he put his full force behind the throws. He was actually quite pleased with one of his goals that had the Ravenclaw keeper knocking back into one of the large metal rings, the Quaffle forcing itself past her hand (which had to leave her skin stinging, even with the guards) and through the hoop.

Cheers of his name rounded the stands, but he ignored them.

Finally the cheers rose to deafening proportions, and Riku turned to find Scorpius holding the snitch in his hand up above his head triumphantly.

Catching Malfoy's eyes, Riku nodded his thanks and shot out of the Quidditch boundaries as quickly as he could, heading for the Castle. Touching down inside the courtyard, he ditched the broom in some bushes beside the door and hurried to the Hospital Wing.

Opening it, he looked around and quickly found a small group of people surrounding a bed near the back of the room. He quickly approached.

Aerith was leaning over Sora and assessing him herself while Madame Pomphry cast spell after spell while muttering under her breath.

Sora was pale, paler than Riku had ever seen him, and he could sense the darkness swirling around the bright soul. He didn't even twitch at everything happening above him, but there was that small, teeny tiny smile on his face, that seemed to constantly be there.

"How is he?" Riku asked Zexion, who was frowning, his hand resting on the lexicon that lay in his lap.

"Physically he's stable," the illusionist replied quietly.

"But?" Riku asked, sensing the huge 'but.'

"But, we don't know what effect the darkness has had yet. It will take time for the effects to manifest - maybe as long as a few days. We don't even know how long he's going to be out for."

"But he's stabilized," Riku prodded, just needing that confirmed.

Zexion nodded. "For the time being."

Aerith sighed and pulled away. "He seems alright. I can sense the darkness ebbing away, but I'm not sure where to."

"Probably Roxas," Riku murmured.

Zexion's gaze sharpened and he began flicking through the lexicon on his lap in a hurry.

"What is it?" Riku asked.

"Just a thought," Zexion murmured. "Don't mind me."

Eyes narrowing, Riku observed the smaller man before brushing it off. Instead, he focused on Aerith. "Any idea when he'll wake up?"

She shook her head helplessly. "The best we can do at the moment is pray."

~TBC

* * *

><p>*hides away from all the screaming that I can imagine is happening*<p> 


	23. Awakening

Chapter 23 - Awakening

"_Sora, wake up," _a quiet voice urged, and Sora grumbled. He was warm, and sleepy, and he didn't want to wake up. So why should he?

"_Sora, you need to wake up now. Open your eyes. Look at me." _

Grumbling again, Sora felt his eyelids twitch, heavy with something he couldn't determine. They felt like they weighed a ton.

"_Come on sleepy head," _a voice teased gently, getting steadily closer. _"You need to wake up. You've can't sleep the day away like this. You'll turn into a pumpkin."_

Sora's eyebrows furrowed. Why did that sound so weird? Yet… make perfect sense?

"**Sora…"** another voice broke in, and Sora felt a hand gently ghost across his forehead, brushing his hair out of his eyes. **"Please…"**

The sadness and longing of that voice tugged at Sora's heartstrings, and was the final push he needed to make himself force his eyes open. When he did, he blinked slowly.

He must still have been dreaming, because when he focused, he found Roxas standing in front of him, smiling sadly. The world around them was strange… It was split into light and dark, but it was like the darkness was draining away from Sora into Roxas, so that Sora was covered in light. As he watched, the darkness continued to drain slowly towards Roxas.

Roxas smiled. _"There it is. That's the face I was looking for." _

"Roxas…?" Sora asked unsurely, not sure what was going on.

"_Welcome back. Leave this darkness to me, and don't worry, I'll be fine. I won't lecture you; you'll get plenty of that when you wake up properly." _

"What…?" Sora asked, still not sure what was going on.

Roxas crossed over towards him, and pulled him into a hug. _"Don't you ever do anything like that again. You're lucky I was here, otherwise you'd be dead you idiot." _

Sora, still stumped, just stayed quiet and hugged his Nobody back.

Roxas stepped back with a nod of approval. _"Go on," _he urged._ "You've got people waiting for you." _

Sora felt a pull around his midsection, and the world around him began to break down. "Wait…Roxas!"

"**Sora?"**

"_We'll meet again soon," _Roxas promised, standing back as the darkness swirled around him, a smile on his face.

"Roxas!" The world disintegrated around him, and Sora found himself in a bed, staring up at a high stone ceiling with wide eyes, his breaths coming heavily, and he looked around as a movement caught his attention.

Riku was standing beside him, looking relieved as Sora focused on him.

"Ri?"

"Thank god," Riku breathed and let his head drop down onto Sora's shoulder. "You're awake."

"What's going on? Where am I? What happened?" Sora looked around again, deciding he'd managed to land himself in the Hospital Wing, judging by all the white beds and white curtains.

Riku let out a breathless laugh and sat down, smiling at him with unguarded aquamarine eyes. They were shimmery and over bright, like he'd been about to cry. "Welcome back."

Sora looked around again and started to sit up, pausing as Riku placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just stay there for a minute. I need to get Madame Pomphry."

Before the brunette could protest, Riku was gone, and Sora huffed and lay down in the pillows again. What on earth had happened? What did he remember?

Brows furrowing, he thought back over his last few memories. Okay, so it was Saturday, and Riku had had his first Quidditch match. They'd been in the middle of it when a dragon had appeared – a heartless, Sora quickly corrected. They'd fought, with Leon, Cloud and the other Organization members at their side, but that was all he remembered.

Two sets of shoes, one pair clicking sharply on the stone floor like a pair of heels, and Riku and Madame Pomphry appeared around a white curtain.

"Welcome back Mr Hikari," Madame Pomphry greeted with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Sora took a moment to assess himself before nodding. "I feel fine."

"Can you sit up?"

Doing so, he winced a little at the twinge in his ribs, but it quickly faded.

Madame Pomphry began casting some spells over him, and Sora sat still.

"What happened?" he asked Riku unsurely. "I remember the fight, but after that, nothing. Oh yeah! Did you win?"

Riku snorted and laughed to himself for a bit before shaking his head, a wide grin on his face. "We won," he assured his friend.

"That's good. I was a bit worried that you might have stopped playing. You looked like you were having fun before that Heartless appeared."

Riku shook his head again. "I kept playing, and we won. You shoved Leon out of the way after the fight finished and were hit by a Dark Plasma sphere. You're very lucky. I've seen those things kill."

Sora blinked, and a hazy memory of what Roxas had said to him drifted up. "Roxas…"

Riku blinked and nodded with a smile. "Yeah. We think Roxas helped redirect it. He saved you."

Sora felt his heart clench, and a sense of smug satisfaction swept through him. Sora blinked in surprise, looking down at himself.

Riku just gave him a puzzled look.

"Well Mr Hikari," Madame Pomphry began as she stepped back. "You're right to go. You seem fine physically. How does your head feel."

"Great. No problems," Sora replied with a smile.

"Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. Take the rest of the day off, and if you have any issues or questions, come back. Mr Valley, keep an eye on him."

"I will," Riku promised.

The medi-witch nodded and left.

"Take the rest of the day off?" Sora repeated curiously. "What day is it?"

"It's Tuesday," Riku replied.

Sora's eyes widened. "I missed Sunday? Aww, man!"

Riku laughed again, shaking his head again. "Come on, if you're quick we can get you down to have some lunch before it's all gone. You're probably hungry."

At the mention of food, Sora's stomach growled loudly, eliciting another laugh from Riku, and a grin from Sora. "A little, yeah."

Standing, Riku moved around the curtain and closed it, listening to Sora stand and get dressed, his casual clothes sitting folded on a spare chair beside the bed. Being out of sight for the moment, the older Islander allowed himself a moment of unbridled relief. His knees weakened but he stood strong.

Sora was awake.

Sora was alive.

Sora hadn't been swallowed by the darkness.

Breathing deeply through his nose, Riku fought back the onslaught of tears. When the curtain slid back, Riku was mostly in control of himself.

"Ready to go?" Sora asked with a grin.

"Yeah."

Together, the two of them made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch, Sora finding out what he'd missed on the way down, and as they ran past students, a couple of them stopped and asked Sora if he was okay.

Sora, a little perplexed, nodded and kept walking while Riku's lips kept twitching into a smile.

When they reached the Great Hall, Riku and Sora both stepped through the doors and made their way towards where their friends were sitting at the Gryffindor Table.

Yuffie was the first to spot them. "SORA!"

Her cry of delight at seeing her brown haired friend echoed around the Great Hall and all eyes turned just in time to see Sora tackled by the ninja as she threw herself at him in a hug.

"Hey, welcome back," Axel greeted as he leaned back and grinned.

"Glad to see you're up," Demyx also greeted from the other side of the table, a smile on his face.

Zexion nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Sora replied as Yuffie released him, and they all sat back down again.

"Sora! Welcome back to the land of the living," James yelled from five people down the table.

Albus grinned and waved, and Scorpius nodded.

Sora laughed and began serving himself up some lunch. "Thanks guys."

"Squall's been really worried," Yuffie announced as he ate a piece of lettuce.

"Really?" Sora asked, surprised.

"Yeah. He keeps kicking himself for not noticing and throwing himself out of the way."

Riku shrugged uncomfortably. "Best case scenario I guess."

Zexion nodded in agreement.

Sora looked up at the staff table and locked gazes with Leon and Cloud.

Leon gave him a small smile and a nod, and Cloud just nodded.

Sora smiled and waved, quickly going back to his lunch as his stomach growled. "So what have I missed?"

"Not a whole lot," Albus replied as he pushed himself between Demyx and the older female student he was sitting next to. "Everything has been pretty low key."

"Yeah, I heard Slytherin won the Quidditch match? Congratulations," Sora smiled at Scorpius, who sat down beside Zexion.

"Thank you."

"Oi, Potter," the girl Albus was sitting next to suddenly interrupted as she turned from her friends. "Whose turn is it to bring the sherbet this week?"

Albus blinked before catching on. "Oh, um, Jacobi and Co. I think," he replied, looking down the table to try and spot the senior.

"Thanks." She got up and walked down the row to find him.

Scorpius blinked. "That time already?"

Albus grinned. "Yep."

Sora looked at Riku and they both shrugged.

LINEBREAK

The portrait to the common room opened that night and Sora looked up from his homework as Demyx, Axel, Scorpius and Albus all stepped through the portal.

"Hey, where's Riku?" he asked curiously.

"He's been detained," Scorpius replied as he dropped his bag on the cushion he wanted before walking around to sit in it properly.

"Detained? By who?"

"A girl," Demyx replied with a grin as he dropped into an armchair by the fire.

"Oh…. What did she want?"

"Dunno," Axel replied with a shrug and a mischievous grin as he too dropped cross-legged onto the couch. "But whatever she wanted, she looked pretty nervous about it."

Sora's brow furrowed. "Do you think Riku's in trouble?"

"If he is, I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle," Scorpius soothed as he pulled a textbook out of his bag.

Unease still swam through Sora's body as he went back to his textbook, attempting to focus.

"Just go after him," an annoyed voice whispered in his ear.

Sora blinked and his head jerked up, looking around. The others all had their heads buried in the pages, Demyx being the closest one to him sitting about a meter and a half away.

Looking up, Demyx blinked at the brunette. "What?"

"Uh, nothing." Shaking his head slightly, Sora looked down at his textbook again, picking up a quill and a piece of parchment to start writing his Divination essay.

A quiet sigh was breathed against his ear, but Sora ignored it and focused on his assignment.

About ten minutes later the portrait opened, and Sora's head shot up from the few sentences he'd managed to write as Riku appeared in the entrance, his silver hair tied up into a ponytail. The relief that filled him had him smiling widely in greeting. "Hey, you okay?"

Riku nodded as he approached. "Fine. Why?"

"What did she want?" Demyx asked as he too looked up from where he was playing with a ball of water.

"She asked me out."

"What?" Sora retorted in surprise.

"What did you say?" Axel asked with a grin. "Yes?"

"I told her I wasn't interested," Riku replied as he dropped into the single chair Sora was already sitting in, forcing the younger teen to slide sideways and end up half on his best friend's lap.

"Really? Why? She was pretty cute."

Sora must have blanked for a moment, because the next thing he knew Axel was holding his face as his nose gushed blood and his Divination textbook was sitting on Axel's lap, Riku's arms clamped around his waist.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Sora?! That hurt!"

Sora felt flabbergasted as he sunk back, double-checking to make sure that it really was his textbook collecting blood on Axel's lap.

Riku started laughing behind him, and within seconds he was howling with laughter but trying to muffle it by burying his head between the brunette's shoulder blades.

"Shut up Riku," the red head growled as he took the handkerchief that Scorpius summoned for him and used it to mop up the blood. "That hurt. I really don't think that was warranted Sora. It's not like he's yours."

Sora heard himself growl and the next thing he knew Riku's textbook was flying towards the fire mage, coming from his own hands, which he suddenly didn't seem to be in control of.

"Oi!" Ducking, Axel stared wide-eyed. "What the hell did I do to get your knickers in a twist Roxy?"

Riku quickly tightened his arms around Sora as the brunette's body shook in anger and his best friend attempted to throw himself out of his arms and at the red head. "Don't call me Roxy you dolt!"

Demyx blinked in surprise, and some amusement as Sora thrashed and Riku struggled to keep ahold of the keyblade wielder.

Axel smirked and sat back. "Why hello Roxy, so nice to finally get to talk to you. It's been a long time. The last time we talked you tried to kill me."

"Yeah, well, you were hunting me first," Roxas growled. "Not really my fault you were being an arse."

Axel flicked a hand dismissively. "Details. So how come you've only just started to show yourself now? Your Somebody almost got killed. Is that why?"

"Why is it any of your business?"

"Because I want to know."

Albus opened his mouth to ask a question before closing it again and leaning over to talk to the water mage quietly. "What's going on?"

Demyx looked at the two natives and grinned. "Long story short, Sora has two people living inside him. Himself, and Roxas, who is his Nobody. He was in the Orgy like us, but deserted to go and find Sora. He and Axel left on bad terms, and their last encounter was less than civil."

"Oh." Albus leant back, still looking confused.

Scorpius just looked perplexed.

A shout of rage and a yelp of pain had them drawing their attention back to the trio. Riku was clutching at his face while Axel laughed uproariously. Sora was standing in front of the silver haired teen looking horrified.

"I'm so sorry Riku!" he wailed as he leaned forward to tug his best friend's hands away from his face. "Are you bleeding?" The expression then changed as the red head was glared at. "Shut up Axel."

Axel just laughed harder.

"I said shut up!" Roxas yelled and stomped over to where the fire mage was almost rolling on the chair with laughter. He picked up a cushion and held it up threateningly. "I'll beat you to death!"

"With a cushion?" Demyx asked, looking amused.

"Yes, with a cushion," Roxas snapped.

The expression then changed to pleading and Sora seemed to emerge again. "Roxas, don't do that. They don't deserve it."

"Shut up Sora!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"Then let me beat them to death with the cushion! Be grateful I'm using only a cushion."

"You'll be going for a very long time then."

Axel gave a disturbed looking Riku an amused yet uncomfortable look as he raised his hand to scratch at the back of his head from a standing position. "This is so weird…."

"Agreed," Riku mumbled behind his hand.

"Shut up, both of you," Roxas snapped, turning to glare at both of them.

"Hey! Don't tell Riku to be quiet! He's hurt!" Sora defended, sounding honestly offended on his friend's behalf.

"So what? He's still agreeing with fire crotch over there." Roxas gestured at Axel with a thumb.

Axel raised an amused eyebrow at his nickname. "Original," he murmured.

"So what? You're the one that hurt him, so I don't see why you have to be a douche about it."

Demyx cringed. "Ooh, now you've done it Sora."

"Douche? DOUCHE?" Roxas yelled, sounding outraged. "I am no douche. I have met far more douche's in my life than you ever have!"

"Doesn't excuse you for being one," Sora argued back.

"This is really weird," Albus murmured.

Scorpius just nodded, sitting back as he watched Sora argue with himself.

Axel snorted in laughter but finally stepped in to stop the argument. "O-kay, who wants ice-cream?"

"ME!" Demyx and Roxas yelled, the younger blond suddenly distracted.

"I want strawberry cheesecake!" Sora decided. "Riku, can you make me some strawberry cheesecake?"

"Sora its…" Riku cast a tempus charm. "It's just over two hours until dinner time. Can't you wait? Besides, you won't get it until tomorrow anyway."

"But…. But I want some now," the brunette whined, his eyes getting wide and watery.

"I sure the house elves may be able to work something out," Scorpius soothed.

"That's a good idea," Riku agreed. "Anyone know how to get down to the kitchens?"

Albus sighed and rose from his seated position. "I'll take you down. Come on." He looked back at his best friend. "You staying?"

Scorpius nodded. "I'll wait here."

"Okay. Want anything?"

"Nah. Thanks though."

"No worries. See you when we get back." Waving, Albus led the four foreigners out of the Gryffindor Common room, Sora still switching between Roxas and himself as he carried on the conversation with the five of them.

Scorpius shook his head when the portrait closed behind them.

"Oi, Malfoy, what was that all about?"

Scorpius looked up at the girl in their year with shoulder length auburn hair that was tied back and brown eyes. "I'm not sure myself."

"Bit touched in the head is he?"

The blond snorted in amusement. "Just a little, yeah. Honestly, I think they all are."

"Mmm." She turned and walked back to her group of friends, who were watching them curiously.

~tbc

* * *

><p>How's that for an update? :D I got it up a day or so after promised, but it wasn't another six months at least; and I didn't leave it on a cliffhanger! :D Miracle!<p>

Anyway, i'm off to NZ tomorrow for 10 days, so I won't have any internet access, but I will hopefully have time to get a lot of writing done. Knowing my family and cousins I highly doubt it, unless I manage to find a corner to hide in where no one can find me. I need an invisibility cloak...

Talk to you all when I talk to you next. :)

- Vex


	24. Potty Mouth

I am dead because I took so long to upload this, I know, but all I can say is i'm sorry and I hope this chapter makes up for it. *runs away to build a fortress to hide behind when you get to the end of this chapter*

* * *

><p>Chapter 24 - Potty Mouth (Warning! There is a lot of swearing in this chapter)<p>

_[Jane Eyre, pg 93] Adèle sang the canzonette tunefully enough, and with the _naïvetè_ of her age. This achieved, she jumped up from my knee and said, "Now, Mademoiselle, I will repeat you some poetry."_

_Assuming an attitude, she began "La Ligue des Rats: fable de La Fontaine." She then declaimed the little piece with an attention to punctuation and emphasis, a flexibility of voice and an appropriateness of gesture, very unusual indeed at her age, and which proved she had been carefully trained._

"_Was it your mama who taught you that piece?" I asked._

"_Yes, and she just used to say it in this way: 'Qu'avez-vous donc? Lui dit un de ces rats; parlez!' she made me lift my hand – so – to remind me to raise my voice at the question. Now shall I dance for you?"_

"Whatcya reading?"

Zexion jumped as big teal eyes suddenly appeared in his line of vision, surprise sending a jolt of adrenaline rushing through his system. "Demyx! How many times must I tell you not to do that?!"

Demyx leant back in surprise and smiled. "Until it sinks in I guess. Whatchya reading?"

Zexion huffed out and looked down at the library book he was reading. "It's called Jane Eyre. Apparently it's a muggle English Literature classic."

"Any good?"

Zexion shrugged. "It's interesting. Certainly an intriguing concept given the period it was written in, and by a woman no less."

Demyx frowned. "Is that you being sexist?"

"No, I meant that given that it was written by a romantic and the main theme seems to revolve about her abuse and her need to find and be loved to improve her own self worth it's not bad. I can see why it would be a classic."

"Who suggested you read that?"

"Rose Weasley."

"Oh."

Going back to the book, Zexion attempted to ignore Demyx, who still hovered.

"I wouldn't have thought that would be the sort of stuff you normally read."

"I have very eclectic interests."

Demyx frowned. "What does electric mean?"

"Eclectic," Zexion corrected in annoyance and looked up from his book again. "It means I have a very large range of interests."

"Oh."

Going back to Jane Eyre again, Zexion continued to read, managing to get to the end of the page before Demyx interrupted again.

"What are you doing tonight?"

Blinking a couple of times, Zexion looked up again. "I believe I am going to be reading a few books tonight."

Demyx nodded. "Cool. Ax, Sora, Riku, Rox, Albus and Scorpius and I were going to chill up in the Gryffindor Tower if you want to come?"

"Rox?" The name catching his attention, Zexion was quickly interested. "As in Roxas?"

"Yeah. He and Axel have been arguing a lot this week. It's pretty funny once you get over the weirdness of Sora being two people simultaneously."

Zexion frowned and closed the book, using his fingers as a bookmark. "Demyx, tell me again what Sora and Roxas have been doing?"

"Arguing. Well, Roxas has been arguing. Sora has been apologizing to everyone on Roxas's behalf." The blond shrugged and leant forward to rest on his crossed legs.

Getting concerned now, Zexion bookmarked the book and put it away. "How often is Roxas 'active'? Is he projecting?"

"No projections. He just takes over Sora's body, and he's pretty much active all the time now, especially around us. Gryffindor have just gotten used to it. I don't know if he's around during classes because we're in different grades, but… yeah."

"Demyx, where is Sora now?"

"Studying about seven shelves that way." The musician pointed in the direction of where he'd come from. "I saw you and came to talk to you. You looked like you could use some company." He smiled.

Zexion gave the water mage an unimpressed look. "I think we need to work on your version of 'needs company'."

Demyx blinked, suddenly looking hurt. "You mean you didn't want company?"

"No, I didn't. Come with me." Zexion stood and picked up the satchel he'd been carrying around with him.

Demyx watched him stand, blinking in surprise. "I thought you didn't want company?"

Rolling his eyes, Zexion dragged Demyx upright. "I didn't. Come on."

"Wha-? Hey! Okay…" Being dragged along, he followed Zexion out of the shelves and in the direction of where he'd pointed. "What are we doing?"

Ignoring the blond, Zexion spotted the person he wanted, surrounded by the other people he wanted to talk to you made a beeline for the table with a huff. "Who let Axel into the library? He'd better not set anything on fire."

"Don't worry, Roxas is keeping him under control."

"Hmm."

At the table Sora and Axel were laughing; Riku smirking in the way he does when he thinks something is amusing but doesn't want to admit it; Albus and Scorpius were looking a bit scared.

"…Larxene? Holy shit! Dude, I never would have taken her for a bows and frills type of girl," Axel laughed. "Never get into her underwear drawer. Not only is it scary, but if she finds out you've been in there she'll murder you."

"Might I ask how you came upon this information?" Zexion asked curiously. "I assume Larxene does not know since you are still, I assume, in the presence of all your parts?"

"Her washing got mixed up with mine one day," Axel replied with a shrug as his laughter died down to chuckles. "I had to return it to her without her knowledge otherwise I would be dead, or at least be missing an eye or a pleasurable body part."

"Ooh, I remember that," Demyx cringed. "Didn't you try to put them back?"

"Yeah, I did, and she almost caught me when she came back from her mission early. I managed to get a good look first before I had to scoot out of there. The woman color-codes her underwear drawer! It's really scary."

"How did you get them back to her then?"

"Without her knowing? I gave them to a dusk and told it to go and find Larxene."

Demyx snickered before wincing. "That poor dusk. You sent it like a lamb to the slaughter."

"Yeah, she killed it. Glad it was the dusk though and not me."

"I don't remember this," Sora suddenly piped up.

"It was before your time Rox," Axel answered.

"Oh. That explains it."

Zexion gave the brunette a sharp look. "Roxas?"

"Oh, hey Zex. Long time no see. Sorry you didn't make it through Castle Oblivion. Glad you're back now though." Roxas/Sora waved with a smile.

Zexion heaved a huge sigh and dropped the book on the desk with a heavy thump. "Demyx, have a seat. We all need to talk."

Everyone straightened up.

"Talk about what?" Riku asked.

"About why Roxas has been unusually active and no one came to me to make sure that there wasn't something wrong with Sora."

Sora/Roxas frowned. "Roxas isn't hurting anyone."

"Bullshit," Axel scoffed.

Roxas (it was definitely Roxas) fixed the red head with a withering glare. "Excuse me?"

"Dude, you broke my nose and winded Riku. I'm pretty sure that classifies as hurting someone."

Roxas growled but let it go. "Okay, fine, but to be fair you were being a jerk, and Riku deserved it."

"How did I deserve to be winded?" Riku asked in disbelief. "I did nothing to you."

"Nothing?" Roxas growled again. "Oh, right, attacking and abducting someone after you beat them up doesn't classify as needing an arse kicking? Oh! And lets not forget that you put me in a simulated town for three months and faked my whole life and memories! I think I have the right to be pissed off at you."

Albus and Scorpius gave Demyx a confused look. "What are they talking about?"

Demyx shook his head. "Don't worry. Ancient history, and a very long story. I'll tell you later."

"Enough," Zexion barked, silence falling over the table. "We have some issues that need to be dealt with, right now. How long has Roxas been active?" Zexion summoned his Lexicon and sent a page out to circle around Sora's head.

Sora watched it in amusement and confusion as it sparkled and glowed.

Riku looked at his best friend before answering the illusionist. "About three days. Since Sora woke up actually."

"Anything before that?"

"No, I didn't notice anything," Riku replied, shaking his head.

"What about you Sora. How long has Roxas been active?"

Sora blinked and watched the page fly back to Zexion and settle into its place again. "Um… about… three days? Since I woke up, yeah."

"Nothing before hand?"

"There was the odd bit here and there, and that projection back when we were in The World that Never Was, but that was it."

Scanning the readings, Zexion frowned. "Roxas, what's changed do you feel?"

Roxas gave the other male an unimpressed look. "Oh, I'm here now am I?"

"Roxas, answer my questions because this concerns you as much as it concerns Sora. What do you feel has changed?"

Rolling his eyes, Roxas settled back into the chair and crossed his arms. "I suddenly feel like I have more energy and control."

"Since Sora was hit with that dark blast?"

"Yeah, I guess. After I drained it more accurately. I haven't been able to communicate with him much before this. It's a nice change from just existing in a corner of his mind in a white haze."

"I notice it's now not just Sora's personality that you can take over?"

Roxas held up a hand and fisted it in front of his face. "Yeah, that's definitely changed."

Zexion nodded.

"You're not going to try and repress me again, are you?" Roxas asked in concern.

"I'm not going to jump to any resolutions just yet. There may be other options we can try first."

Letting out a breath, Roxas nodded.

"I don't want Roxas to disappear again," Sora protested suddenly, sitting up. "That's not fair on Roxas. We're fine existing like this."

"Face it Sora. It's less than ideal," Roxas replied. "Besides, we look like a crazy person."

"You act like one too," Albus muttered quietly.

Roxas fixed the middle Potter with an unimpressed look. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and not give you black balls."

Albus cringed. "Message received."

Huffing and turning back to Zexion, Roxas crossed his arms again. "So what plans did you have in mind Oh Great Schemer?"

"I may need to run a few tests, and confer with the other foundation members, but I'm sure we can come up with a solution that does not repress you. That, it seems, shall be a last resort."

Roxas nodded.

"On another note, why did none of you report this when it started? Axel? Riku?"

Riku shrugged, looking shamefaced. "Sora hasn't acted any differently – except for Roxas. When he's himself though he's still the same energetic kid I've always known. I didn't think there were any side effects."

"Let's hope not," Zexion murmured as he closed his Lexicon. "If you will excuse me, I must find Vexen and Lexaeus." Turning, he left.

"So we'll see you tonight, yeah?" Demyx yelled just as Zexion was about to turn a corner.

Pausing, Zexion looked back at the blond in disbelief. Seriously? Did Demyx really not get the point of not wanting to be around people? Pursing his lips, he turned around again. "We shall see."

Demyx watched him go with a smile and a wave. "Bye!"

"Dude, you invited emo-kid to tonight?" Axel asked in disbelief.

"Oi! Don't call him emo-kid," Roxas growled defensively. "He has a name."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Dude, you invited Zexion to tonight?" he rephrased sarcastically, sending Roxas a look that screamed 'happy now?'

Roxas shook his head with a huff. "What's wrong with inviting Zexion? He's fun, and smart, and unlike you I can actually have an intelligent conversation with him."

"Ooh, ouch," Riku murmured with a wince.

"I'm smart!" Axel protested in outrage. "I can have an intelligent conversation with someone."

"You're a pain in the arse," Roxas corrected sweetly. "Can we please move on?"

"Yeah, what is the plan for tonight?" Sora asked, looking at Albus.

Albus blinked as all eyes turned to him. "Oh, right, this is your first dig. Well, Gryffindor has a party once a term where we sneak in alcohol and party late on a Friday night. Usually it's the older grades that are given the task of sneaking the alcohol in. People from the other houses are invited by invitation only. It gets too out of control otherwise."

"Is that okay? Having parties on a Friday night?" Sora asked. "Especially with alcohol in a boarding school?"

"It's not like they can stop us."

"Hang on, I haven't heard anything about a party this week at all," Axel suddenly pointed out in confusion. "I'm normally pretty onto this stuff, but there's been no mention of anything party related."

Scorpius sighed. "You noticed all the talk about sherbet yes?"

"Yeah," Demyx replied. "What's up with that?"

"It's code for grog," Albus explained. "While McGonagall might not stop us, we certainly don't want the other teachers catching on. Especially Professor Vane. She'd put everything to a halt on the spot. Besides, it's more fun to talk about it that way."

"That I get," Axel replied with a nod.

Albus nodded. "So party tonight. It starts after curfew; so about 11:30 or midnight, and we go until dawn. That way we know all the teachers will be in bed. Less chance of getting caught."

"Makes sense," Riku agreed. "Do we all bring our own stuff or is it provided?"

"James or I usually manage to snaffle a few platters of snacks from the house elves. They're fond of us, being Potter's and all."

"Yes, you did seem rather friendly," Roxas agreed.

"Any particular dress code?" Axel asked.

"Nope. Just come in casual party clothes and have an awesome time."

"Sounds awesome."

"It will be. Speaking of, I'd better get going. I'm meeting James in the kitchens in about ten minutes." Albus quickly cast a tempus and began packing up his books. "See you guys at dinner."

"Later."

As soon as Albus left, Axel looked at Scorpius. "Okay, tell us the truth. How wild do these parties really get?"

"They're actually not bad," the blond replied as he sat back and crossed his arms. "You get the odd bad one, but there are usually people on standby – normally people who don't drink the grog – to hit anyone who's getting a bit too rowdy with a sobriety spell, or a stunner. The sobriety spell isn't anywhere near as good as the potion, but it does take the edge off."

"Coolio."

"I wish I'd learnt that for you, Xaldin, Xigbar and Luxord," Roxas muttered. "It would've been damn handy some days."

"Naw, still upset that I avoid feeling you up while I'm sober Roxy-babe?" Axel teased.

"The only reason you survived was because I knew you were drunk," Roxas bit back.

"See Demy, Roxas does love me!"

Roxas growled and there was a loud thump and a yelp from Axel as his knee hit the top of the table.

"Ouch! Fuck that hurt! Did you have to kick me Rox?"

Smirking, Roxas sat back smugly and crossed his arms. "Payback."

LINEBREAK

Zexion made his way into the Gryffindor Common Room that night and blinked in surprise as he found dressed up students spread all around the room, bowls of snacks and a floating drinks bar set up in one corner. Ducking a flying paper crane, Zexion quickly located the people he wanted and made a beeline for them.

Axel was laughing and had his arm slung around Sora's shoulders, the brunette not seeming to mind the close attention. Riku meanwhile was seething with irritation judging by the glares he kept shooting the ignorant pyromaniac.

Demyx turned to look at him as he approached, the already wide grin on the musicians face growing to near splitting proportions. "Zexion! There you are. I was wondering if you were coming."

"Coming?"

"The party? Honestly. I was expecting you to come a little later, but this is cool too."

Zexion must have looked puzzled because he was given a look of exasperation.

"There's a party on tonight. You're going to hang around, right?"

"We shall see," Zexion muttered. "Sora, Roxas, I need to speak with you."

Sora blinked and turned his full attention to the Illusionist, as did the rest of the group.

Zexion sat down on the arm beside Demyx. "Sora, Roxas; Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus and I have talked and we agree that as long as there appears to be no ill effects on either of you we will just sit and monitor your situation."

"Yes!" Sora cheered with a grin.

"As long as both of you seem to be functioning normally we will allow you to continue as you have been. If you wish to follow a plan of action to try and achieve a more peaceful union we can come up with one, I am sure. You need only ask."

"Thank you," Roxas murmured with a small smile. "It's an ease on my mind to know you'll be backing us if we need it."

Zexion nodded. "You're welcome."

"Now that you're here Zex and you've addressed the issues at hand, have a drink."

Zexion blinked in surprise as Axel forced a drink into his hand where he sat. Looking at it curiously, the young man sniffed it cautiously. It smelled sweet. "What is it?"

"Fruit punch."

"It's not spiked, is it?"

Axel laughed. "If it is it wasn't by me."

Pursing his lips, Zexion placed the drink back on a floating tray. "I'll pass."

"Aw, come on Zexy," Demyx urged. "It's just one drink." He grabbed the drink back before it could float out of reach and handed it back.

Zexion sighed and sniffed at it again, tasting it curiously. It was pretty good. "Fine. One drink. Then I'm leaving."

Demyx and Axel grinned.

~Two hours later~

"You set me up!" Axel yelled, laughing loudly as he leaned forward and pointed at Zexion.

"Hey, you fell for it," Zexion defended as he too laughed. He was slurring his words and the colour was settled high on his cheeks as he grabbed another punch floating past.

"But you set me up!"

"And you fucking fell for it!"

"Okay, ladies, a time out please," Demyx laughed as he tugged Zexion back with the arm he had settled comfortably around the younger teens waist. "Yes, Axel, Zexion pranked you, but it was a bloody good prank you have to admit."

"Yeah you can say that Dem but it wasn't you that walked around with candy pink hair for three days," the pyromaniac protested. "I had to go on missions like that!"

"I thought you looked good with bows," Demyx replied with a grin. "They really brought our your feminine side."

Axel laughed again and reached out to swat the blond. "Up yours Dem."

A soft snore from Sora broke through the noise for a minute. The brunette was passed out on Riku's arm. Riku was looking quite smug and happy with himself for the moment as he supported his friend's sleeping form.

"Think we should get Sora to bed?" Demyx asked curiously.

"Nah, he's fine," Riku replied with a grin. "Trust me. Trying to move him now will be like trying to move a slab of concrete. It'll be near painful, let me tell you."

"Well, we do have the help of levitating spells," Zexion pointed out with a smile.

"This is true," Riku mused. He took another sip of his drink. "Nah, just leave him. We're probably all too wasted to safely perform a levitating spell anyway."

Zexion paused right before he took another drink. "What do you mean by wasted?"

"Drunk," Axel answered matter-of-factly. "Intoxicated, inebriated, smashed, bombed, sloshed, hammered. Any of these sinking in?"

"I am not drunk," Zexion bristled, looking downright offended. "I have never been drunk in my life."

"Hate to tell you dude, you are so sloshed right now," Riku agreed with a laugh.

"I am not drunk!"

"You are."

"Are not!"

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Zexy, would you kiss me right now if I asked?" Demyx asked curiously.

Zexion turned to look at him with a thoughtful look on his face. "Sure. Why not?"

Demyx chuckled and squeezed the arm that he had settled around the younger teens waist. "You are so pissed."

"Am not!"

Laughing loudly, Demyx quickly defended himself as Zexion attacked him. The swings were clumsy and wild.

"Oi! No fighting in the room of commons!" a Gryffindor prefect yelled as she staggered past, her balance tilting so she spilt her drink onto the carpet.

"I think you mean the Common Room?" Axel corrected in amusement.

"Yeah. That," she agreed as she leant against the couch, swaying dangerously. "No fighting."

"They weren't fighting," Riku explained as he leaned towards her. "They were flirting."

Demyx laughed as he finally managed to pin Zexion's arms back to his body. "Got you!"

"See?"

The girl nodded. "You're right. Hey, you're pretty hot. Wanna have hot smexy times?" She leaned forward towards him.

Riku shifted towards Sora and watched as the girl slid past him and dropped to the floor with a loud thud and didn't move again. Peering over the back of the couch, he quickly checked to make sure she was still breathing and turned back to Axel with a shrug. "Wasn't me."

"Course not," the red head replied with a shrug and a grin. "Come on, let's get some more punch into Zexion. He's hilarious like this."

"Fuck you!" Zexion yelled loudly at Axel, even as his hands were being kept pinned to his sides.

"You are such a trash mouth."

"I'm not a fucking trash mouth!"

"See? First one to vomit?"

Riku grinned and waved over a few more drinks. "You're on."

~tbc

* * *

><p>*Peers out from over the top of my wall* So, I hope you all enjoyed that. I have to take my computer in to get it fixed tomorrow. The battery has died, so an update could be a while. Just hang on! *ducks down again*<p> 


	25. Darkness at Hand

I have my computer back! *does a happy dance* So anyway, as promised here is Chapter 25. Enjoy. :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 25 - Darkness at Hand<span>

Riku woke up in Sora's bed that morning, his head pounding and body feeling heavy. Man he felt awful. What the hell had he done last night?

Eyes opening, he found brunette spikes tickling the end of his nose and closed his eyes again, drawing the familiar weight of his best friend closer.

A groan a few beds over made him open his eyes again, only to find Albus emerging with rumpled clothes and messy hair. "Oh, my head," he moaned loudly.

"Shuddup," Scorpius groaned as a foot emerged to kick the middle Potter.

"Shh," Riku moaned, his head pounding with the few noises.

Someone walked into the dorm and pushed something into his hand before moving on. Looking at it curiously, he watched as Albus and Scorpius downed it without hesitation and seemed to suddenly revive. "What's it?" he asked, squinting blurry eyes at the vial.

"Hangover potion," Albus replied as he and Scorpius got out of the bed. "Trust me, you'll want it. Need the bathroom first though." The two of them scampered off.

Riku dropped the vial carefully on the sideboard and closed his eyes again. He'd drink it later.

"All of you shut the fuck up," a voice that sounded scarily like Zexion grouched. "Riku, Axel, you are fucking dead you fucking trash heads."

"I hear ya trash mouth," Axel agreed as he threw his hand up in the air from his own bed.

"Zex, drink your hangover potion before you actually murder someone," Demyx murmured sleepily.

"Demyx, you are dead as well when I am capable of physically moving you fucktard."

"Yep. Okay. Now shut up and get some more sleep. Mr Bubbles doesn't normally move around this much and I'm still sleepy."

"Fuck you."

"I wish." Yawning, Demyx tightened his arms around Zexion and dragged him closer.

Axel snorted in amusement. "You two are so gay."

"Fuck you Axel. Fuck you."

"You wish shorty. You wish."

LINEBREAK

It was lunchtime and the Great Hall was in chaos, as usual. All the students were cramming as much food into them as possible (trying to get over their hangovers), as were the castle's temporary guests. Cloud and Leon were sitting at the staff table with Vexen, Xaldin and Xigbar. Yuffie was sitting with Sora, Axel and Demyx and most of the staff were either avoiding the chaos or enjoying it, laughing and watching to make sure the students didn't start any food fights.

Leon listened as Xaldin described the intricate details of the computer system they'd had in Radiant Garden before their experiments all went to hell.

Cloud rubbed his shoulder where his wing was with a frown. It had been aching all morning. Usually it just meant upset levels of darkness but it had never gone on for this long. Munching on a piece of bacon, he yelped as the pain suddenly flared up, filling his body with a fire he hadn't felt in a very long time, making him double over and clutch at his shoulder with a hiss. "Ah, Ow…!"

"Cloud?" Leon asked, suddenly concerned.

Breathing heavily, he attempted to push the pain back, whimpering as it suddenly pulsed and his control over the wing began to slip.

"Hey, Cloud, what's wrong?" Leon asked urgently as he placed a hand on the blonde's back.

"My wing," he hissed. "Something's wrong. I've got bloody good pain tolerance, but this is fucking ridiculous!" Eyes clenched tightly, he jerked up in alarm when a strangled cry came from the Slytherin table.

Riku's eyes narrowed as Cloud doubled over in pain. Something wasn't right. Oh well, Vexen would sort it. Going back to his lunch, he picked up the conversation with Scorpius again, who asked him if he was okay. Nodding to say he was, he picked up another fork full of omelette and dropped it suddenly when his heartbeat leapt into his ears and his heart felt like it was suddenly being crushed in a strong fist.

_Tha-thump._

_Tha-thump. _

_Tha-thump. _

Letting out a strangled cry, his eyes widened in panic as he felt the darkness stab claws into his chest again and begin to spread slowly, poisonously, making his veins feel like lead and his arms and legs feel like rubber. Trying to draw in unsteady, shuddering breaths that just didn't seem to make a difference in getting him the oxygen his body needed, he doubled over and attempted to push it back, breathing getting faster.

"Hey, Riku. Riku! Professor, help!" Scorpius yelled loudly, looking around wildly.

Sora was laughing at something Axel had said when Yuffie said worriedly, "I wonder what's wrong with Cloud?"

Frowning, he looked over at the staff table, eyes widening when he saw Cloud doubled over the table, Leon and Vexen checking him over. "I don't know…"

A strangled yell sounded and Sora looked up eyes landing on Riku as he doubled over as well, Scorpius looking around anxiously. "RIKU!" He leapt up from the table, racing around the end to get to his best friend. Getting there, he placed a hand on the other teenager's back, ignoring the worried looks around him. "Riku?"

"Sora… get… back…" Riku managed to choke out, sounding like he was being strangled. Pushing himself upright, the silver haired teenager pushed himself away from the table and doubled over with a scream as he clutched at his chest again.

"RIKU! Zexion, help!" Sora screamed desperately as he caught his friend from hitting the ground. The slate haired teen was there within seconds. They lowered Riku to the ground and he lay there in a crouch.

"Riku, what's wrong?" Zexion asked calmly.

"The darkness…" he whispered hoarsely. "Something's… something's wrong."

Cloud whimpered again, clutching at his shoulder. Vexen and Leon had lowered him to the ground as he attempted to fight against it, keep it under control. This shouldn't be happening. Pain was bleeding through him as he fought the darkness, taking on the form of fire.

"Vex, what's going on?" Xigbar asked as he hovered.

"I don't know," the blond scientist answered worriedly.

Sora was watching anxiously, biting his lip as he watched Riku try to control the darkness that was suddenly flaring up.

"Hey, it'll be okay," a voice beside him said, and he looked up to see Axel standing beside him.

"I hope so," he breathed, stiffening as a cold chill and then a jolt shot through his body.

_Sora, something's not…_ Roxas began before breaking off in a sudden pained cry.

"Rox….?" Suddenly he was choking, choking as something crawled up his throat and he let out a cry of panic, clawing at his throat desperately to try and get rid of whatever was choking him.

"Hey, Sora! Roxas!" Axel yelled and held him up as he fell to his knees, arms quickly wrapping around the brunette.

Suddenly screaming as the choking feeling quickly transformed into blinding pain, he barely registered that the pain felt like his heart was being torn in two. Pain blinded him, deafened him, made him unable to move, and he blacked out.

Axel panicked when the brunette beside him began screaming. He just screamed and screamed, magic flaring up around him menacingly, forcing the fire wielder to release him and back away.

"What is going on?!" McGonagall demanded as she swept into the Great Hall.

"We don't know!" Zexion snapped as she glared at him for answers.

Suddenly, Sora shot backwards and forwards at the same time. A golden haired boy flipped forward and skidded along the Slytherin table while Sora flipped backwards across the room, like he'd been thrown, and Xigbar swore and used his space powers to appear behind the brunette, catching him and skidding backwards along the Hufflepuff table, wobbling as he almost fell off the end.

"Hey, hey kid!" Slapping the key bearer's cheek, he didn't so much as get a twitch and felt for a pulse.

"Roxas!" Axel yelled and leapt forward onto the table, quickly joined by Xaldin, who pushed the red head out of the way and immediately began to check the blond over.

"I DON'T HAVE A PULSE!" Xigbar called loudly and began looking for signs of life. "Breathing, barely, but no pulse!"

"Get him stabilized," Xaldin snapped as his eyes widened when Roxas's figure began to blur and slip. "We're losing Roxas."

Wracking his brain for something to do, Xigbar scrabbled through his pockets looking for the elixir he had on him. Making the brunette drink it, he kept monitoring the keyblade wielder as the potion took its effect. "Come on kid, _breathe,"_ he murmured desperately under his breath, praying, and let out a sigh of relief when life flushed through Sora's cheeks and he drew in a shuddering breath. After breathing deeply a few times, the brunette's body steadied. Still, Xigbar couldn't get him to wake up.

"Roxas is stable," Xaldin reported with a hint of relief in his voice.

"Thank the darkness," Axel breathed out in relief as he leant forward.

"Riku, breathe," Zexion urged as the silver haired teen began hyperventilating. "Focus on me, slow your breathing. You're going to pass out at this rate."

"Come on Cloud, you can fight it," Leon urged gently, resting his hand reassuringly on the blonde's shoulder, where the other fighter currently wasn't clutching in agony. "Can't you do anything?" he asked Vexen, who just shook his head helplessly.

"The best we can do is wait until this blows over, whatever it is."

"Get Mr Hikari to the Hospital Wing," Professor McGonagall ordered when she got her bearings. "The other boy too, whoever he is."

Xigbar nodded and scooped Sora up, Xaldin doing the same with Roxas and they departed the Great Hall, Axel hesitating before following.

"Zex… I can't…" Riku gasped out, breathing heavily, eyes clenched tightly shut as he clutched at his chest.

"You'll be fine Riku, just ride it out," Zexion murmured soothingly but didn't dare touch the Slytherin due to the tendrils of darkness beginning to curl themselves around the teen from a pool below his feet.

"What's happening?" Scorpius asked warily, eyeing Riku off like he had suddenly grown a set of very large and sharp teeth and two extra heads.

"I'm not sure," the schemer murmured as his eyes glazed a bit, mind going into overdrive. "It's almost like…"

Suddenly, Riku screamed loudly, the darkness flaring up around him and cocooning him in a tornado effect, lifting him above the ground as he straightened and stiffened.

Zexion backed up warily, the others following his example.

Demyx slipped through the crowd of scared students and slipped his hand into the academics. "What's going on Zexy?"

"I don't know Demyx," Zexion murmured back.

Cloud cried out as his wing pulsed and broke through a few strands of his control, starting to manifest in his shoulder and push the skin, bones and muscle to breaking point. _Lord of darkness, someone help me! _

Leon tightened his grip minutely, eyes widening as the area where Cloud's wing was began to lump and move. Riku suddenly screamed and was covered in darkness. "What's happening?" He asked Vexen, again.

"I have a few theories," the scientist replied thoughtfully, eyes glazed. "But they're impossible… or are they?" he murmured a few seconds later.

After what seemed like an eternity to Riku, the pain subsided and the crushing pressure pressing against his lungs finally released, leaving him to drop to the ground in a heap, heaving in breaths of air like a drowning man.

Zexion stared, his body chilled when the darkness finally left Riku alone. The teen was lying on the ground in his leather coat, boots, gloves and had the blindfold over his eyes, looking shaken.

Suddenly, students outside the Great Hall started screaming, Yuffie joining them as she leapt onto the table, weapons drawn. "What the hell is that?!" She yelped as a cloud of brick and debris came raining down with a loud stony crash.

Leon looked up and drew his gunblade as he caught sight of the giant dark creature thrashing around in chains in the Entrance Hall. "Heartless!" A few of the of the older students began firing spells at it, the spells either disappearing and having no effect or rebounding dangerously and almost hitting a couple of the other students.

"EVERYONE INTO THE GREAT HALL!" McGonagall yelled as she drew her wand and leapt forward, firing her own spells into the mix, a few other teachers with her.

Hesitating, Leon looked at Cloud who managed to smile at him, albeit it being pained. "Go," he whispered and shoved the brunette weakly, biting his lip to keep from crying out again as the wing grew with his momentary distraction. His eyes flew shut again, shutting out the unnatural shape and colour - a deep poison green tinged with black.

Leon looked at Vexen, who nodded back to him. "Go. I'll keep an eye on him."

Nodding, Leon ran down the tables and leapt onto the one closest to him, drawing his gunblade as he went, Yuffie following his example on the Gryffindor table to avoid screaming students running the other way. Ducking under the spells being fired, Leon and Yuffie both leapt back as an influx of smaller heartless, namely shadows, began creeping through the doors into the Great Hall. Gritting his teeth, Leon took one last look at the raging heartless and began attacking the smaller heartless slithering through.

Just as the giant was about to hit the doors, a blast of dark energy hit it in the face and forced the creature backwards with a shriek.

Everyone paused in what they doing and turned, including the teachers, and Leon found Riku standing there, arm outstretched, looking more determined than he had in a long time. Suddenly, the teenager was racing down one of the tables, ignoring the teachers protests that he stop and come back, and leapt through the door, vanishing as the creature tried to grab at him, appearing behind the head, keyblade in hand, black as night, and slashed at the creature causing it to screech.

Falling, Riku landed on the creature and kicked off again with a flip, sensing the Darkside's movements with his sight blinded. Vanishing again as something was about to hit him from behind, he appeared on top and with a yell, slashed at the creature, creating an injury to its face.

Landing on the ground, he raced towards the creature he could sense and began leaping up the arms and legs, dodging everything that came his way. Another dark energy blast to the creatures face and he had it falling on its own arse, leaving Riku the clearing he needed as he leapt up as high as he could into the air and came crashing down, stabbing the keyblade into the Darkside's head, dropping to the ground as the giant heartless vanished in a pool of darkness.

Leon stopped fighting as the heartless stopped appearing and watched as Riku straightened up. Despite himself, the brunette felt a chill go through his body.

Once everything was clear, as far as he could sense, Riku turned and walked back into the Great Hall calmly. The silence that greeted him was deafening. It made the Islander want to scream. Reaching up to pull off the blindfold, he froze halfway there when a sound caught his attention and he vanished when another dark presence appeared, this time up near the teacher's table. He appeared behind it, keyblade pressed to the newcomer's neck. This one seemed human shaped.

"Sephiroth!" Yuffie yelped when the man appeared.

Cloud pushed his head up with sheer force as he continued to fight the wing, which had now doubled its efforts because its counterpart had just turned up. "What are you doing here?" he managed to growl out, pushing himself into a kneeling position with some difficulty.

"You called for me Cloud," Sephiroth said with a smirk and flicked his eyes in annoyance at the keyblade resting against his neck. "Although I can see I wasn't needed after all."

"Unless you want your throat slit, I suggest you leave," Riku demanded quietly, completely still as he waited for anything.

"Hmmph…" the Jenova General sniffed and studied the boy behind him with curiosity. Lifting a hand, he watched the boy stiffen as he touched the blindfold, shredding it with a finger and Riku winced and blinked a couple of times as the light hit his eyes. "You look just like one of my remnants," Sephiroth said thoughtfully and dragged a finger lightly down the teen's cheek.

Snarling, Riku was suddenly back out of arms reach, keyblade pointed at the other person threateningly. "Don't touch me."

"Leave him alone," Cloud snapped weakly. "It's me you want. Leave my friends out of this."

"Your friends Cloud?" Sephiroth asked with a raised eyebrow, a smirk gracing his lips as he turned and walked forward a few steps to kneel down in front of the blond, reaching a hand out to grip the pale chin. "My, that certainly won't do. I thought we covered this lesson? Do I have to teach it again?"

The unnaturally green eyes widened in a panic. "No… please…" Cloud breathed as he struggled to back away.

"Stop fighting it Cloud. Stop fighting me. You will never be rid of me. Isn't it easier just to give in?" the man murmured in his ear, leaning forward.

Cloud closed his eyes and shuddered.

"Don't you dare Cloud," Leon barked as he stepped forward, gunblade held level with Sephiroth, stormy grey eyes firm with determination and anger. "Leave him alone Sephiroth."

"Yeah!" Yuffie added in as she held her own weapons threateningly. "Haven't you hurt Cloud enough already?"

Vexen, seeing that the man's attention was diverted, took the time to call upon his shield, slipping in front of Cloud easily, and the scientist noticed Lexaeus do the same, slipping in beside him though. Zexion already had his Lexicon out and was holding it, ready for anything, while Demyx had his Sitar held at the ready.

The staff all had their wands trained on the General as well.

Sephiroth looked around and smirked, backing away. "I can see that this isn't going to end well." Turning, he faced the blond, who was glaring at him, still clutching at his shoulder, expression creased in concentration and pain. "See you later… Cloud." With that, he opened his wing, rose, and disappeared through a dark portal.

Immediately, everyone relaxed and breathed out a sigh of relief while Cloud sunk back down to the ground again with a pained groan, still clutching his shoulder with one hand.

Riku relaxed and dropped the keyblade, letting it vanish as it hit the floor. He then swayed, raising a hand to rest against his forehead.

"Riku, are you alright?" Zexion asked, suddenly beside him.

"I feel really tired all of a sudden," he murmured, seconds before his eyes flickered closed and he passed out, hitting the ground with a solid thump.

Zexion stepped back and watched as the black cloak bled off the darkness until the teenager was dressed in his normal weekend clothes again.

Demyx sighed with relief, dismissing his sitar. "Thank goodness."

"Give me a hand Demyx, we'll get him up to the Hospital Wing."

Together, Demyx and Zexion lifted Riku and began walking him out of the great hall.

Leon ducked down in front of Cloud, who seemed to be breathing easier. "You okay?"

"I think so," Cloud answered breathlessly. "It seems to be easing."

"I wonder what caused it?" Vexen asked in a low voice.

"It could be a balance shift," Lexaeus replied, weapon banished.

"Maybe," Vexen sighed. "Go with Zexion and Demyx will you? They'll tire before long and I don't think Riku will be too happy to wake up with more bruises than he needs to."

The big man nodded and exited the hall, swiftly walking out of view.

Vexen turned his attention to Cloud again. "It's easing still?"

The blond nodded.

"We'll take you up to get looked at by Madame Pomphrey anyway," Vexen decided and shifted green eyes to Leon. "Can you take him?"

Leon nodded and reached forward, scooping the blond up into his arms, despite his protests of "Leon, I can walk," and the brunette walked out of the Great Hall with a "no, you can't."

Yuffie squealed silently behind him and cursed herself for not having a camera on hand.

Vexen followed at a brisk pace.

The Headmistress sighed and surveyed the sea of students in front of her. "Alright, all of you back to your weekend activities. I will make sure to explain everything tonight."

The students grumbled and began moving. Minerva nodded to the staff, who gave her meaningful looks that clearly said _'we want everything explained as soon as you know what's going on.'_

Walking out into the Entrance Hall, she took in the damage and incanted a spell, reversing everything that had happened, leaving the stone room looking as immaculate as it had that morning.

Chasing the rest of the students out of the Great Hall, she then made a direct beeline for the Hospital Wing. When she entered, it was mostly under control. Sora and the blond boy she didn't know where under monitoring spells and were both unconscious in separate beds, Riku was unconscious in his own bed, and Madame Pomphrey was currently checking over Cloud, who still looked like he was in pain, but it was lessening. Leon was sitting beside the blond while Axel was sitting beside the unknown boy.

Over in the corner Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus and Zexion were all arguing quietly, Zexion with a book out and open.

She ignored them and approached the mediwitch. "How are they Poppy?" she asked quietly.

The witch nodded a greeting and held up a finger. She addressed Cloud first. "You'll be fine. I want you to stay and rest here though, where I can keep an eye on you. If you want a pain potion it's here," she said and placed it on the bedside table, next to a jug and a glass. Turning, she then addressed Leon. "Make yourself useful if you're going to stay. Make sure he stays in bed. He's a stubborn one, I can tell."

Leon smirked and nodded.

Nodding in satisfaction, she drew Minerva over to one side and threw an irritated glare in the direction of the five. "They'll be fine," she answered suddenly. "They're just exhausted, although Mr Strife seems to have something in his shoulder that he insists he can get rid of. He's refusing any potions or spells I have on hand though to help."

"What about the new boy?"

"He's perfectly normal. Just like Sora and Riku he's completely exhausted and should wake up soon. His brain waves are functioning normally so that's a good sign. Xigbar was insistent that I check that as soon he and Xaldin brought the boys in." Her voice dropped in volume. "What happened Minerva? It's been so long since I've had this many in the Hospital Wing due to incident."

"I honestly don't know Poppy. That's why I'm here. I need an explanation, and the only ones who can explain to me what's happening just happen to be in a deep discussion at the moment."

The mediwitch tutted before a grin twitched at her lips. "It's like Harry Potter's back at school again. I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing these boys quite regularly."

"I sure hope not, but I know what you mean," she replied with a smile of her own.

Nodding a goodbye, Madame Pomphrey headed over to her potion stock cupboard and Minerva headed for the arguing group of academics.

"…Impossible! Nothing like that should be able to happen," Vexen hissed, eyes narrowed on Zexion.

"The readings are right here. I was monitoring Riku the whole time. Lexaeus is right. The balance has shifted," Zexion informed.

"But so suddenly? What caused it?" Xaldin asked quietly.

"Who knows?" Xigbar replied with a shrug.

McGonagall cleared her throat and all the Scientists turned to look at her with non-surprised expressions. "Can I get some answers?" she asked, looking highly unimpressed. "I have to tell the student body something, as well as my staff."

"Something's happening. That something caused a reaction in Cloud, Riku and Sora. We're not sure why, or how, but it is happening," Zexion informed calmly. "Before we confirm it we'll need to monitor the balance some more."

"I…see…" she answered slowly, trying to wrap her mind around what she was sure was what she already knew. "Can I get some more definite answers?"

"This world's balance is shifting, Minerva," Xigbar said suddenly, looking more serious than she'd seen him since he'd appeared. "We don't know why, but we're confident that things are about to get very, very nasty." His one eye met hers. "Riku and Cloud were enough proof of that. It would take a significant shift for them to react like that, and for it to be so sudden too…"

"Something isn't right," Vexen finished quietly, ivy green irises narrowed in thought, mind flicking over possibilities.

Ignoring the deep, thumping fear that was beginning to uncurl in her gut, the elderly witch fixed them with a determined gaze. "What do I tell the staff and students? I can't possibly reveal this to them without causing an uproar amongst the ministry, not to mention set the entire school on edge for unnecessary panic."

"Tell them it was a student prank," Zexion broke in. "A nasty one. Someone slipped a potion into their goblets."

"What about the creature?"

"Something from the Forbidden Forest that managed to make its way in? No one knows what lies in those forests."

Her gaze met firm slate eyes and she thought the possibilities over. "That would work," she murmured finally. "Thank you. I'll lecture the students tonight about it." She sighed. "Not that I really want to be doing that. Keep me updated with what you find, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Zexion replied with a smile, closing his Lexicon quietly. He exchanged a look with the others and nodded before turning and leaving. "Goodbye."

The others all made to move away. "Wait, what about the other boy? The blond one Axel is sitting next to?" She fixed them all with a stern stare.

Xigbar sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is going to take some explaining." He looked at her contemplatively before smiling brightly and clapping the blond scientist on the shoulder. "Well, good luck Vex." Giving a two-fingered salute, he used his powers over space to disappear, the others quickly wishing him luck and disappearing as he protested loudly, earning himself a glare from Madame Pomphrey.

Sighing as she fixed him with a determined gaze, he met her eyes and gave a small smile. "Shall we head to your office? This explanation is going to take a while."

Sora's eyes flickered open sleepily and he groaned before rolling over and blinking blearily at the floor, his brain slowly whirring through start up and into reality. When it did though, the first thought on Sora's mind was his silver haired friend.

"Riku!" Jumping out of bed, he staggered a bit as his head spun, the result of getting up too fast, and sprinted out of the room. It wasn't until he was three floors up that he realised that he had no clue what day it was or where Riku would be.

Hurrying on, he went looking for a person before backtracking to a group of giggling women in a portrait. "Excuse me," he began breathlessly. They all focused on him, falling quiet. "Can you tell me what day it is please? And what the time is?"

"It's Wednesday young man," a woman answered with a concerned tone. "Should you be out of bed?"

"Time?" he asked impatiently.

"Just after lunch," she replied with a frown.

"Thank you!" Sora said and took off for the dungeons at a sprint. He normally had transfigurations after lunch and Riku had Potions when he had transfigurations. Racing down to the dungeons, he ran through the castle, not even registering the cold on his bare feet and burst through the classroom door of the potions classroom. "Riku!"

The entire class paused in what they were doing and Sora met startled aquamarine eyes. "Sora?" The next thing Riku knew he had an armful of sobbing Sora. Staggering backwards, he just managed to stop himself from falling back into his cauldron as he wrapped both arms around his best friend.

"Thank goodness you're okay," Sora whispered as he cried into the other keybladers neck. "I thought I'd lost you again."

"I'm still here Sora. I'm not going back into the darkness anytime soon," Riku murmured and rubbed his hands in a soothing motion up and down the brunette's back. "You should still be in bed. You just woke up, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he murmured sheepishly and gave a half smile, still not looking up.

The silver haired teen just shook his head. "You're hopeless. You know Madame Pomphrey is going to come after you with fiery vengeance when she finds you gone, right?"

Sora froze, eyes wide. "Oh no…"

"Come on, let's get you back."

Nodding, the brunette stepped back with a small smile, eyes widening as his legs suddenly gave way beneath him. Riku quickly caught him again and looked at him in surprise. Before he could say anything, the brunette's stomach gurgled loudly, and Sora blushed while Riku smirked. "Idiot." Scooping his best friend up, despite Sora's protests, the older teen nodded at the surprised looking Potions teacher and carried the brunette out of the room, bridal style, and back up to the Hospital Wing.

~TBC

* * *

><p>*Skips off whistling innocently*<p> 


	26. A Blonde Sora?

**I'm sorry guys. I know I said i'd get this up sooner rather than later, but I completely forgot. My bad. **

**Anyway, enjoy. :) **

* * *

><p>Chapter 26<p>

Roxas yawned and stretched, wriggling his toes and fingers. Man he was sore. And stiff. What the hell had Sora done to get his body into this state?

Forcing his eyes open, Roxas looked around and blinked in confusion. It looked like he was in the Hospital Wing. Sitting up with a little difficulty, he looked around again for Madame Pomphry. "Hello?"

She appeared a few moments later, Aerith in tow. "Roxas! You're awake," Aerith greeted brightly as they approached. "Thank goodness. You really gave us a scare."

Roxas blinked at her in surprise. "How did you know it was me?"

Aerith smiled and handed over a mirror just as Madame Pomphry started casting spells. "Take a look for yourself."

Hesitating momentarily, Roxas took the mirror and turned it over. Blond. He was blond. Why the hell..? "Where's Sora?"

"Sora's fine," Aerith answered as she took the mirror back. "He's still sleeping in the bed next to you."

Throwing himself out of bed, Roxas hit the ground in surprise as his knees gave out beneath him, but quickly stood on wobbly legs and pushed his way to the curtained off bed. Pushing the curtain back, he felt all the breath leave his body at the sight of Sora, in all his brunette glory, sleeping peacefully underneath the covers.

As his legs went to give way beneath him again, he felt someone catch him underneath his arms. "Easy," Aerith soothed as she eased him down to the ground.

"Sora… and I'm…." Roxas stared at his hands again and flexed them. "I'm me again."

"You are," Aerith agreed with a smile.

"But… but this is wrong! This is why I had to merge back with Sora in the first place! He needs my half of his heart!" He whipped around to stare at Aerith pleadingly. "You have to merge us again. Before he wakes up."

"Roxas, everything is fine. Sora is as whole as he was when you were merged."

"I don't understand."

"Come back to bed and I'll explain."

Nodding, Roxas allowed himself to be helped back to bed.

"Well," Madame Pomphry began once he was settled again. "You appear to be recovering nicely. A few strength building potions and you'll be fine to be discharged."

"Thank you Madame Pomphry," Aerith said with a smile. "If you don't mind, Roxas and I need to talk."

"Of course. I'll bring those potions out."

"Thank you."

The two of them watched her go.

"So, what's going on?" Roxas asked as he settled back into the pillows.

Aerith sat on the edge of the bed. "Roxas, when Sora was hit with the dark blast and you drained the darkness into you, we think it took on a creative form and allowed you to develop your own heart, and your own power, which is why you were so active in the days leading up to your split. As it is, it was a complete fluke that the darkness spiked when it did, and it was the final push that your heart needed to separate the two of you."

"So… Sora doesn't need me?"

"No. We've monitored him over the last couple of days and he's perfectly fine and functional. We think the only reason he's still sleeping is that his heart and body is recovering from the shock of having you ripped from it."

"Oh…"

"So please don't say anything about needing to be merged with Sora again unless it absolutely has to happen, okay?" She placed her hand on his and squeezed it with a smile. "There are people here who are glad to see you're your own person again."

Roxas nodded slowly.

Madame Pomphry chose that time to reappear with the needed potions. "Here you are. Drink these and then you're free to go."

"We'll take you up to see the Headmistress. She requested an audience with you when you woke."

Nodding, Roxas drank the offered potions and shivered in surprise as a tingling sensation swept through his body. When it faded he moved his arms and blinked at the painless and sure movements. "That worked quickly."

Aerith laughed and stood up. "Get dressed and I'll take you to see the Headmistress." She drew the curtain closed behind her.

Roxas crawled out of bed and quickly located his clothes sitting folded on a chair off to the side. They were the same one's he'd been wearing when he'd merged with Sora. Pulling them on, he adjusted the wristbands as he pulled the curtain open to meet up with Aerith.

When she saw him she giggled.

Roxas blinked. "What?"

"You just look so much like Cloud it's terribly amusing. You could be his little brother."

Roxas blinked again before shrugging. "Shall we?"

"Of course."

Leading the way out of the Hospital Wing, Aerith led them up a flight of stairs and towards the gargoyle that marked the entrance of the Headmistresses office. They stopped in front of it.

The gargoyle fluffed its stone feathers and stood up straight, its beak opening and a deep gravelly voice emerged. "What business do you have here?"

Roxas's jaw dropped in surprise.

"The Headmistress wished to see Roxas when he awoke," Aerith answered. "I've brought him to see her."

"I see. The Headmistress is out at this point in time. I do not know when she will return. Do you wish to wait here or come back?"

"We'll come back. I'll take Roxas down to have some Lunch first. It should be just about lunchtime. Please inform her we'll come up after that."

"Of course." Bowing his head, the gargoyle settled back into his resting position.

"Whoa."

Aerith laughed at the dumbfounded look on the blonde's face. "Come on. There's a certain someone who will be very happy to see you awake."

Nodding, Roxas followed her, his gaze not leaving the gargoyle until it was almost out of sight. "That was…certainly very freaky."

"One of the more unusual sights here, I will admit," Aerith acknowledged.

They made their way down three flights of stairs to the Great Hall. It was mostly empty with only a couple of teachers having an early lunch. It was clear that the bell hadn't sounded yet.

Aerith led him down a middle table – the Gryffindor one he noticed – and gestured to a seat about halfway down. "Sit here. I'll come and get you when the lunch hour finishes." She smiled and waited until Roxas had taken a seat before walking away.

Sitting there twiddling his thumbs, Roxas looked around the room and waited. He checked out the flags for himself, the floor, the walls, the grain of the tables, and the silver plates, cutlery and goblets. Eventually coming back to stare at his hands, Roxas jumped a bit when the bell sounded and platters of food suddenly appeared on the table. Drawing in a deep, bracing breath, he reached out and began to dish himself up some food.

Within a couple of minutes students began trickling in through the doors, quickly turning into a flood as the tables were filled.

Looking around for the Organization members, Roxas steadily worked his way through a plate of food and was mostly done before he spotted someone he knew. "Hey, James."

The eldest Potter stopped and looked at him, blinking in puzzlement. "Hi. Do I know you?"

"Yeah. I'm Roxas. Have you seen Axel, Zexion or Demyx about?"

"You're…? What the fuck?" James sat down in front of him, looking perplexed. "So, just let me get my head around this. So you're the other half of Sora's split personality?"

"Something like that, yeah. I'm his Nobody."

"Uh… okay."

"Axel or Demyx?"

"Huh?"

Sighing in frustration, Roxas speared another piece of his chicken viciously. "Axel or Demyx. Have you seen them?" he asked slowly.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I think Red was going to collect his things and then come down. Water Boy went with him. They should be here in a minute."

"Thanks."

"Uh… yeah. Anyway, nice to meet you. James Potter." James held out his hand to shake over the table.

Giving the older teen an amused look, Roxas decided to humor him and took the hand. "Roxas Hikari I guess. Nice to officially meet you as myself James Potter."

"Yeah."

"Hey, James!" Albus suddenly appeared beside his brother and punched him in the arm. "Who's this?"

"Roxas."

Albus blinked in surprise. "As in…. Sora's Roxas?"

"Yep."

"Oh…. Axel tried to explain this to me but I didn't get it. Now I do."

"Get what?" Scorpius asked as he also popped up suddenly.

"Score, meet Roxas, Sora's other half," Albus introduced as he took a seat.

Scorpius blinked a couple of times, jaw hanging half open. "Huh? Hang on, how're you…?"

"Long story," Roxas replied with a sigh. "Sit down."

"Where's Sora?" Albus asked as sat down beside his brother.

"Still out," Roxas replied. "Us splitting took a lot of effort and caused some damage. He's still recovering."

"Oh. Any idea when he'll wake up?"

"Maybe the next day or two? The fact that I'm awake is a good thing, but it was harder on him than me."

"Oh, okay."

"So what are your plans?" Scorpius asked as he served himself up.

"Regarding what?"

"Your stay here? Do you plan to attend Hogwarts? Leave and see the world? Commit suicide?"

Roxas laughed. "I have no plans to commit suicide. As to my stay here at Hogwarts, I have to talk to the Headmistress about that."

Scorpius nodded. "Fair enough."

"Roxas?!"

Looking up, Roxas blinked and grinned as he spotted the stunned and disbelieving look on his best friend's face. "Hey Ax."

The red head wailed loudly and tackled him in a hug, sniffling in his shoulder. "You're awake! I thought you'd never wake up."

Patting the black-cloaked shoulder awkwardly, Roxas hugged the pyromaniac. "Yes, yes, I know. It's good to see you too." He rolled his eyes at Demyx, who giggled quietly behind his hand.

"I know, right?!" Axel wailed again and drew back with a few sniffles. "I am never letting you go again Roxy. I missed you too much."

Roxas twitched. "What did you just call me?"

Demyx face palmed.

Axel froze. "Uh… Roxas?"

"Better," Roxas growled as he relaxed. "Clean yourself up and eat some lunch will you? You look pathetic."

Axel grinned and wiped his face with his sleeve, taking a seat beside the blond. "Good to have you back Roxy."

Roxas twitched and his fist smashed down on top of Axel's head, forcing the red head of hair towards the table.

Demyx merely rolled his eyes and sat down. "He never learns, does he Roxas?"

"Nope. Never." Laughing in spite of himself, Roxas gave Demyx a quick hug. "Good to see you Dem."

"Glad you're back Rox," Demyx laughed as he hugged the other blond back. "Don't you ever leave us again."

"I have no plans to."

LINEBREAK

Roxas stood in front of Headmistress McGonagall with his hands behind his back. He was surprisingly nervous.

Silence spread between them for a few minutes before it was finally broken.

"So, you wish to become a student here?" McGonagall asked.

Roxas nodded slowly. "If you will allow me, yes. My friends and family are here."

Minerva sighed. "I don't see why not. One more 'transfer student' won't make much of a difference.

Roxas grinned. "Thank you ma'am."

"Professor," McGonagall corrected. "Professor or Headmistress if you don't mind Mr Hikari." She smiled though to let him know she wasn't angry as she got up to collect the sorting hat off its shelf. "Well, you've heard the story," she said to the hat. "All that's left now is to sort him. I'll leave that up to you."

The hat grumbled as it was placed on Roxas's head. "I haven't had to work this much ever."

"You sort students into houses once an annum. I'm sure one more student will not tax you before the end of the year." McGonagall rolled her eyes as she hovered in front of her desk.

Sniffing in distain, the hat focused. "Right, let's see what I have to deal with this time. You have the soul of a Slytherin – darkness is very strong within you: be warned young man; but I sense the heart of a lion and a will of gold. To Gryffindor you will go. See to it that the darkness does not infect and rule your heart. Bravery will be your guiding light."

Roxas nodded. "I won't."

Nodding, McGonagall took the hat off Roxas's head. "Thank you." She put it back on the shelf. "So," turning, she smiled at the blond. "I suppose we'd better find you somewhere in Gryffindor Tower to sleep, and get you some robes and books."

"Probably." Smiling, Roxas felt happier than he had in a long time. He had himself back, he had his friends, and he knew where he belonged.

LINEBREAK

When Roxas entered the Gryffindor Tower that afternoon, his arms full of textbooks and robes, Axel was the first one to spot him.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes!" the red head laughed as he swooped in to steal some of his friend's load. "Friends forever, right? Come on! You're bunking with me." Grinning, Axel darted up the stairs.

Roxas shook his head with a laugh but followed. "Slow down you giant! Some of us don't have legs as long as yours."

"Hurry those short legs up then!" came the answering yell.

Demyx looked up from his bed where he was playing his sitar with a smile when Axel and Roxas entered, their arms full of belongings. "Hey, welcome to the den."

"Oh good, someone to keep me sane," Roxas joked with a laugh as he dropped his things on the new bed that had appeared in the room an hour earlier. "Don't you guys have class?"

"Sort of," Axel replied as he scratched the back of his head.

"We skipped Herbology," Demyx answered as he strummed a few more tunes.

"I see. I don't see what's wrong with Herbology. I didn't mind it."

"Marluxia usually crashes our lessons and the plants normally end up trying to molest us in an attempt to get to him as he sweeps past and coo's at them all," Axel answered.

Snorting in amusement, the shorter blond sat down on his bed. "I see. Can't deal with a little tentacle rape guys?"

Both older males looked up with a frown. "We can so!"

Laughing, Roxas settled back against the headboard.

"We would just rather not," Demyx answered.

"Kinky as it is," Axel agreed as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the keyblade wielder. "I'd have no problems if you were the plant."

Roxas snorted in laughter. "You're dreaming Lecher."

"Darn."

Demyx laughed. "When do you start classes?"

"Tomorrow."

"Awesome. Are you going into Sora's grade?"

"Yeah. We figured I'll just run off his schedule unless there's something I really want to change."

"Makes sense. Most of Gryffindor has the same schedule, plus or minus a couple of classes."

"Man, that's going to screw a few heads up," Demyx laughed.

Roxas grinned. "It's certainly going to be amusing."

LINEBREAK

"Sora!"

Roxas turned, looking for his other self in anticipation. Sora was awake? Why had no one told him?

"Sora!"

Strange… that voice sounded like it was getting closer. Shrugging, he turned back the way he was walking to Herbology.

"Sora, don't you walk away from me! Stop right there!"

Okay, that was really strange.

"SORA!"

Jerking to a stop as his arm was grabbed, Roxas blinked and turned in confusion to face Rose Weasley, who was looking most put out. "Oh, hi Rose."

"Didn't you hear me calling? How dare you ignore me! Don't think that just because you've been in and out of the Hospital Wing you're getting out of our joint assignment," she puffed as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, but I'm not-"

"I don't want to hear any excuses!" she butted in as she began dragging him in the direction of Greenhouse Six. "You've got enough work to catch up on as it is!"

Roxas sighed but allowed himself to be dragged to the class. Something told him this was going to be messy.

Professor Longbottom looked up with a smile when Rose and Roxas entered. "Ah, Miss Weasley, Mr Hikari, welcome. Glad to see you're awake. You gave us all quite a scare."

Roxas nodded and walked over to the Professor, Rose being dragged along. "Sir, I'm not Sora."

They both blinked in confusion. "Sorry, what?"

"Of course you're Sora," Rose insisted as she rolled her eyes. "Just because you've gone blond doesn't mean we can't still recognize you."

"Morning guys! Hey Roxas," Albus greeted suddenly as he appeared beside them.

Rose and Neville blinked. "Roxas?" they asked simultaneously as they both looked at the blond.

Roxas sighed.

"Yeah, this is Roxas. Sora's twin is the easiest explanation I suppose. Sora's still unconscious in the Hospital Wing."

Rose blushed and dropped the blonde's arm. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were Sora."

"Don't worry about it," Roxas replied with a smile.

"Well, this is strange. There are more showing up. Oh well. Why don't you take a seat with Albus, seeing as you know him."

Nodding, Roxas followed Albus back to his seat, where a spare one was sitting nearby.

"You okay? You looked like you could use some rescuing."

Roxas smiled and nodded as he dropped his books on the table. "Yeah, thanks. She refused to listen."

Albus laughed. "She does that. Any news on Sora?"

"No, none."

"Shame. Hopefully he'll wake up soon. Riku's going out of his mind with worry, but he's trying not to show it."

Roxas nodded. He couldn't really care less what Riku was worrying about. It was his somebody that was lying unconscious in that hospital bed.

~tbc

* * *

><p>Yeah, I did a time jump with Sora at the end of the last chapter. I figured you'd all want to know he'd woken up. :) The next one should be up at the end of today. I just have to edit it and then it's good to go. :)<p> 


	27. Blue Meets Blue

Chapter 27 – Blue meets blue

Sora sat impatiently while Madame Pomphry cast spell after spell. Riku was watching him in amusement from the side.

"Well Mr Hikari, you seem to be fine. I'll get you a strengthening potion, and then you'll be free to go. Take the rest of today off, but it's straight back to classes tomorrow." She shook her finger at the brunette in reprimand. "The next time you end up in here I won't be so nice."

Sora gave a sheepish grin. "Noted. I never meant to end up in here in the first place."

Nodding, she handed over the potion and watched Sora drink it down before she turned and left.

"Shall we get you out of here again?" Riku teased lightly.

Sora nodded with a smile. "Sure." Hopping out of bed, he located his clothes on the spare chair and changed out of his pyjamas. "Ready when you are."

Riku nodded and together they left the Hospital Wing. As Riku escorted Sora to the Gryffindor Tower, he filled his friend in on everything he'd missed.

"….and Rose has been getting on my case about when you'll wake up. Watch out, she'll probably harass you about the assignment the moment she sees you, only just woken up or not."

Sora cringed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

They made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who glared at Riku but held her tongue. "Oh, and there's something else you should know before you see him."

Sora spoke the password and stepped through the portal. "What's that?"

"It's about Roxas…"

Sora stepped out and into the red surroundings. "What about him? Is he okay?"

Riku followed him. "Roxas is fine. He's more than fine actually. It's just he's… come back."

Sora blinked in confusion. "I don't follow."

The older teen sighed and led his friend to the red couches to sit down. "Three days ago when the darkness spiked, you and Roxas were torn apart. He's now free with his own body and heart and everything."

"Really?!" Sora replied excitedly "Yay! I have a twin again! Only this time I get to get to know him!" Bouncing around excitedly, Sora almost jumped into the fire. "Ow."

"Careful. Yeah, Roxas is back. I haven't seen him much the last couple of days. He's been hanging with Axel and Demyx mostly."

"That's cool. He's in Gryffindor, right?"

"Yes."

"So I'll see him tonight." Sora smiled brightly.

Riku just shook his head. "You are so optimistic it's kind of scary."

The brunette just laughed. "Don't you have class Ri?"

"Did you forget I ditched when you crashed my potions class?"

"Oh yeah…. Sorry about that. I just woke up with this really bad feeling that something had happened to you and that you had disappeared again."

"I gathered." The older teen smirked a bit and pulled the shorter one into a hug. "Sor, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon without you. If I have to go anywhere, it'll be with you, or with your consent."

Sora smiled and snuggled into Riku's chest. "I love you Riku."

Riku, shocked, froze and didn't know what to say other than "I love you too."

"Ugh, get a room you homo's."

Jumping, both teens drew back and whirled around, only to find Fred Weasley standing at the bottom of the stairs looking a little green through his dark bronze complexion.

"Fred! You scared us," Sora said in a rush as he waited for his heart to settle down. "What are you doing here?"

"Free period. Shouldn't you two be making out about now?"

"We would be, but you interrupted us," Riku growled angrily.

"Oh, my bad. That was just so gay though. Really, who tells someone that they love them these days?"

"But I do love Riku," Sora began. "He's my best friend, and my mum always says if you love someone you shouldn't be afraid to tell them how you feel."

Riku's heart dropped and Fred cringed in sympathy. "Ooh, ouch mate. That's gotta hurt."

Sora blinked in confusion. "Um…"

Riku sighed. "It's okay Sora. I'll tell you when you're older." He ruffled the brunette spikes affectionately. He'd certainly set himself up well for that one.

Sora blinked in confusion again before he pouted. "Riku, you always say that. Can't you just tell me?"

"No, because you're not old enough."

"But I'm older than I was!"

"But you're still not as old as me."

"But I'll never be as old as you!"

"That's the point."

Sora pouted. "Not fair."

Fred snorted in amusement and stepped forward again. "I wish that still worked on my cousins. I'm going to the library." He clapped Riku on the shoulder comfortingly. "Oh, here, my dad sent me a shipment of new shock. Check these out." Grinning, he handed over a couple of vials filled with neon coloured liquid. "Try them. Seriously, they're awesome. Later."

Riku blinked a couple of times in confusion before lifting one to examine in the light. "I wonder what they do?"

Sora took the other one from his best friend's hand and popped the cork. "Only one way to find out." Without hesitation, he downed the potion.

"Oi! Don't just drink things without knowing what they are!"

Riku watched anxiously as Sora smacked his lips together a couple of times and hummed. "Yum. Tangy."

"Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fine. I don't feel any different. Do I look different?"

Riku cringed as Sora looked at him, his eyes seeming to glow. "You're looking luminescent."

"What do you mean?" Sora looked at his hands. "I feel fine."

"You're starting to glow." Riku watched nervously as Sora's skin began taking on a pinkish glow that seemed to radiate outwards. It eventually got bright enough to be clearly seen in the daylight.

"Whoa," Sora said when he could clearly see what was happening on his hands. Jumping up, he ran upstairs to the floor to ceiling mirror in his dorm. "I'm glowing pink!"

Riku followed, the other vial in hand. "Yes, you are."

Sora grinned as he pushed his sleeves up so he could reveal more skin. "I'm glowing all over! Quick, close the curtains!" Running around, he closed all the curtains in the dormitory so that there was the minimum amount of light coming in. In the darkness Sora looked like a giant pink glow stick. He laughed. "This is awesome! Riku, you drink the other one!"

Riku cringed a bit and looked at the glowing vial of potion. It was yellow. "This had better wear off Sora." He uncorked it and downed the potion. Within a minute or two he was glowing yellow. Grimacing as he looked at his skin, Riku sighed. "Yellow is so not my colour."

"No, it really isn't," Sora agreed. "We look kinda cool though." He began waving his arms around while laughing. "Look Riku! I can write my name! S. O. R. A! Sora!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Riku located the vial and crossed to one of the windows to open the curtains to try and locate some instructions. There was nothing. "I wonder how long this lasts?"

"Dunno! But I'm enjoying this." Sora continued waving his arms around gleefully for a few minutes, right before he pulled his shoes and socks off so he could watch his feet and toes glow.

Feet pounded up the stairs leading up to the dormitory. "Sora?"

"In here!" Sora yelled, still preoccupied with his feet.

"I heard you were up. How are you feel-?" Roxas froze in the doorway, his eyes wide as he first clapped eyes on his Somebody. "Why are you glowing?"

Sora looked up with a grin. "Roxas! I heard you'd come back. Welcome back!"

"Sora, why are you glowing? That's not natural," Roxas stated. He turned to Riku, not noticing the yellow glow surrounding the older teen. "Why the hell did Madame Pomphry release him?! Glowing pink is not a good thing! Why didn't you take him back?!"

Riku sighed. "Roxas, chill. One, he's fine. Two, it's not a side effect. Fred gave us a couple of potions to try from his uncle's stock. This was the result. I think it's temporary."

"You think?!"

"Whoa, hey! Is that Uncle George's new glow worm potion?" Albus asked as he appeared in the doorway. "Awesome! He has pink now? When did Fred get those?"

"Recently I think," Sora answered as he looked down at his hands again. "Riku is yellow."

"Huh, he is too. I'm gonna go raid Fred's trunk. Wait here." Albus darted off before anyone could stop him.

"So," Roxas began slowly. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty awesome actually. How are you? Riku said we split a few days ago."

"I'm doing okay. I woke up yesterday."

"Yeah, he said that too. Are you enjoying the classes?"

"So far, yes. I've been mistaken for you a few times today. It's a little annoying." Roxas sighed.

"I'll bet. Is Axel happy you're back?"

Roxas smiled. "He seems to be."

Sora smiled in return. "And you? Are you happy to be back to yourself?"

"As long as it doesn't put your life in jeopardy, I have no issues with being my own self again."

Riku gave a small smile and shut the curtain again to try and hide it.

"Whoa…. You do glow yellow." Roxas blinked as he stared at the older Islander.

Albus bustled back in, Scorpius on his heels and a box in his hands. "Everyone gather around! Scorp, here. Roxas! Heads up!" Tossing Roxas a vial glowing orange and Scorpius a vial glowing lime green, he picked up a sky blue one for himself and pulled the cork out. "Bottoms up!"

Roxas frowned and gave the vial an apprehensive look but downed it anyway. "Mmm. Citrusy."

"Blargh," Scorpius grimaced as he placed the empty vial back in the box. "Lime."

"Oh, sorry," Albus apologized. He grinned and examined his hands when he started to glow blue. "This is awesome."

"Fantastic for clubbing," Scorpius agreed.

"Yeah, but you couldn't go to a muggle club like this though. There's no way. Even drunk they'd pinpoint magic from a mile away," Albus agreed.

"Is there a way your Uncle could make it react under UV lighting only?" Riku asked curiously.

Albus nodded slowly. "Maybe. I'll get Fred to suggest it in the review letter he'll send back."

"How often do you get products from your Uncle?" Roxas asked curiously even as he gave his orange skin a bemused look.

"Whenever a new one is about to come onto the market. He usually only sends us the stable experimental stuff to get our opinions. He's under threat of death from Mum that if he purposefully sends us something that will cause us to blow up like balloons, change our genders or shape, make our appendages disappear, or turn us invisible forever, she will personally come and torture him herself to get the antidote, and then rake him over the coals, literally."

"Ouch," Roxas winced.

"Your mum sounds scary," Sora murmured.

"She is when it comes to us," Albus agreed. "She loves us though. That's all we can ask for I guess."

"Your entire family is close," Scorpius continued. "Extended relatives as well."

"Some of them," Albus corrected. "The dreary ones we just leave on the edges unless we absolutely have to include them. We have a lot of honorary Aunts and Uncles too. Like Uncle Neville and Aunty Luna."

"Uncle Neville. As in Professor Longbottom?" Riku asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's my Godfather and a family friend of mine, Rose and Hugo's parents. Same with Hagrid actually."

"Sounds big," Sora murmured.

"Huge," Scorpius mouthed in agreement.

"Hey, is there a purple in there?" Sora asked suddenly, bouncing over to Albus to look in the box himself.

"Uh, actually, yeah, why?"

"Quick! We need to find someone else. Then we can make a rainbow!"

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah. Come on!" Albus darted down the stairwell, Sora following him excitedly, and left the Common Room.

"Whoa, Al! Wait!" Scorpius yelled as he quickly followed, Riku and Roxas hot on his heels.

The group of five traversed the corridors, looking for someone to try the sixth potion on. They eventually spotted someone.

"Hey, Hugo!" Albus yelled, catching his taller cousins attention. "Catch!"

Tossing him the vial, Hugo quickly caught it and held it up to the window as they approached. "Uncle George's new glow worm potion?" He asked curiously, giving his glowing cousin and friend's a good look.

"Yeah," Albus replied.

"Awesome." Quickly popping the cork, Hugo downed the potion with a grin. Smacking his lips together afterwards, he hummed and looked down at it. "Hmm. Berries. Not bad."

"Yes! Now we can make a rainbow." Sora cheered and rearranged them all. "See?"

Roxas huffed. "Why do I have to stand next to Riku?"

"Because you're orange and he's yellow."

"I feel like an idiot," Scorpius complained.

"You look like a cool idiot though," Hugo placated.

"What is going on here?" A voice echoed through the corridor.

Turning, Sora smiled at Professor McGonagall. "Oh, hi Professor. We're making a rainbow. See?" He quickly ran back to his place beside Roxas.

"Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, what have I told you about testing Weasley Products during school hours?" She fixed the two culprits with a stern look.

Albus had the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry Professor. Sora and Riku were already glowing and I got excited when I saw them. Uncle George has been working on this one for a while."

"Hmm. When will this one wear off do you think?"

"No idea. The last batch lasted about six hours. I didn't find any instructions that came with this one. Fred might know though."

"Well, nothing that can be done about it now then. Off to class, all of you. Next time it's detention."

"Yes Headmistress."

As they all moved out of their line, Riku looked at Albus. "Next time, I get blue."

Albus looked back at him with a grin. "Deal."

"Definitely no," Scorpius broke in, looking disgusted. "If anyone gets yellow next time it should be me. I'm the only one that actually looks good in yellow. Al can get green. It'll bring out the colour of his eyes."

"Thanks Dear," Albus replied as he fluttered his eye lashes.

Roxas snorted in amusement but rolled his eyes all the same. "Come on, we've seen Sora. Time for class."

"Back to the Tower with you," Riku shooed Sora, who pouted but allowed himself to be moved away.

"Fine. But you're coming."

"Bye Sora! Bye Riku! See you later!" Hugo yelled with a wave as they walked away.

Professor McGonagall just watched them all split up into two groups and shook her head. The Potter/Weasley clans were a strange bunch. What was even stranger was that Potter and Malfoy got along like they did. It was history in the making for those two.

Shifting back into her cat form, she continued prowling the corridors like she had been. Following the boys back to their classes, she then drifted off and jumped up on a windowsill when she found a warm sunny spot. Curling up in the sun, she drifted off to sleep.

TBC

* * *

><p>*scratches back of head* Not quite the same day, but close. Enjoy. :)<p> 


End file.
